Rape accused ‘Torro’ Guvamatanga allegedly threatening victim (17)

United Kingdom music distributing company Jacaranda Media Group co-director Charles ‘Torro’ Guvamatanga (43) who is facing rape charges has been accused of threatening his victim (17) who is his niece by trying to cause her arrest claiming she drugged him and ‘raped him’.

Guvamatanga popularly known as Torro in entertainment circles is out on bail after his appearance in court last week and is allegedly boasting that nothing will happen to him, raising fears that he would flee to the United Kingdom since his passport was not held by the court.

Lawyers representing the minor led by Admire Rubaya of Rubaya and Chatambudza, have written to police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga raising a complainant against some cops who are seeking to arrest the girl which they believe is interference with a rape victim.

According to the letter also copied to the National Prosecuting Authority seen by Nehanda Radio, the minor now feels unsafe as Guvamatanga allegedly claims to be powerful and connected and that nothing will happen to him but in turn the girl will suffer the consequences of her report.

It is alleged that Guvamatanga who is a special education teacher at Lewisham South Wark College in the UK claims to have done it before to other unnamed victims and nothing allegedly happened to him hence the minor is now afraid that her abuser seems to yield more power than the country’s Criminal Justice system.

“Our client lodged a criminal complaint against Charles Guvamatanga to the effect that she had been raped as clearly set out in the Request for Remand.

“It is pertinent to highlight that the Accused person (Toro) deflowered the complainant a minor child through his criminal conduct of having sexual intercourse with the minor child in the absence of consent from the minor child,” the letter reads.

It is their argument that Toro wants to use the report to evade being held to account and use it as a card during trial that he was the one who was violated.

“Unashamedly and in a bid to diffuse the charges of rape that he is currently facing, the rape-accused person, Charles Guvamatanga proceeded to lodge a clearly false counter report that he had been drugged by the child and that it was the minor child who allegedly forced herself onto him in the process she got herself deflowered.

“This is just unthinkable that a minor child would drug a 43-year-old man for purpose of indecently assaulting him, which can be loosely called “male rape” within social circles,” the letter reads.

The lawyers have questioned the logic behind the accusations that a minor would drug a 43-year-old to have herself deflowered then report him to the police.

“As unbelievable as it is that a virgin minor child would drag a 43-year-old man for purpose of “raping” him, it would be absurd for our client to have proceeded to make an immediate complaint to the first available sympathetic witness that she had been raped by the Accused person.

“Our client asserts that the accused is boasting that he is connected at the top and thus he is never going to be held accountable with the complainant being turned into the real accused person consequent to the counter report.

“The minor child, who happens to be the real victim of rape, is now being harassed under the guise of investigating the counter-report lodged by Charles Guvamatanga.

“Our client is worried that the accused person Charles Guvamatanga intends to use the alleged criminal complaint against her to emasculate himself out of the criminal charges of rape that he is now facing.

The lawyers said one sergeant, Potoriro , is seeking to arrest the girl, calling her to the police station despite being told that the minor is ill after the incident.

“In the circumstances, if our client is arrested and recorded a warned and cautioned statement, the accused person will definitely use that in his favour during the rape trial alleging that our client, the complainant, was the real culprit.

“Additionally, our client is at a loss as to whether it is now a ZRP policy to investigate counter reports lodged by Accused persons who seek to evade criminal rape charges.

“It is our considered view that the Victim Friendly Unit was introduced to protect victims of sexually related offences and not to abuse and or harass the same victims.

“Please note that our client believes that the criminal justice system in Zimbabwe is designed to protect real victims of crime and anyone who is alleged to have committed a crime ought to be investigated and prosecuted.

“However, it seems as if Charles Guvamatanga believes that he is one person who should not be held accountable by the law,” the letter reads.

Nehanda Radio reached out to Guvamatanga and his response was “its very difficult for me to give comment as it may affect my case.”

He proceeded to refer us to his lawyer, Dumisani Mtombeni.