Man jailed for raping sex worker

By Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu

A 32-year-old man has been jailed 15 years for raping a sex worker and robbing her of R200 and her cellphone.

Thobani Moyo from Ntabenende area in Esigodini pleaded not guilty to rape and robbery charges but was convicted due to overwhelming evidence by Gwanda regional magistrate, Mrs Sibonginkosi Mkandla.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison of which three years were suspended on condition that he does not commit a similar offence within the next five years.

He will serve an effective 12-year jail sentence.

Prosecuting, Mr Khumbulani Nyoni said Moyo met the complainant at Ntabenende Business Centre at around 11PM and offered to pay her for her services and she agreed and they went to his home.

‘’On 11 March Moyo met the complainant at a bottle store at Ntabenende Business Centre where she was drinking with her friends. He approached the complainant and offered to pay for her services and she agreed and they proceeded to his house.

“The complainant demanded to see the money which Moyo was going to give her first before she could entertain him. Moyo refused and insisted on producing the money after they were done. The complainant refused and threatened to leave if the accused person wasn’t going to show her the money.

“Moyo then produced a knife and threatened to stab the complainant if she didn’t comply with his orders. He ordered the complainant to remove her clothes and went on to rape her. He further took R200 which the complainant had and her cell phone and ordered her to leave,” he said.

Mr Nyoni said the complainant fled to a neighbouring house where she narrated what the accused person had done to her. The matter was reported to the police resulting in the arrest of the accused person.

In his defence the accused person said he engaged the complainant, who is a commercial sex worker for her services. He said when they left the business centre they had agreed that he would pay her R150 in exchange for her services.

Moyo said after they were done the complainant started demanding R200 as payment. “I gave her the R150 which we had agreed on but she demanded R200 which I didn’t have. She refused to leave my house insisting that I give her the extra R50 up until I forcibly removed her from my house.

“When she left, she threatened to fix me and that’s when she went on to fabricate the allegations. I did not rape the complainant as she had consented to sexual intercourse or rob her off her money,” he said. The Chronicle