BULAWAYO – Former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko’s son, Siqokoqela Mphoko, has successfully appealed his 20-year jail sentence for allegedly raping his 12-year-old niece.
The Bulawayo High Court, comprising judges Bongani Ndlovu and Munamato Mutevedzi, deemed the initial conviction “unsafe” due to concerns over the complaint’s validity and potential coercion.
The court found that the child’s mother may have induced the complaint through threats, while social workers may have employed leading questions. Additionally, the delayed reporting of the crime raised suspicions about the conviction’s reliability.
However, Mphoko’s conviction for escaping lawful custody was upheld. In August, he fled from Hillside Charge Office after being arrested and booked for detention. Mphoko was sentenced to two months in prison for this offense.
In May 2023, Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Elijah Singano initially sentenced Mphoko to 20 years in prison for three counts of rape and escaping lawful custody. The magistrate ruled that Mphoko violated the victim’s constitutional rights and betrayed her family’s trust.
Mphoko’s lawyer, Thobekile Dube, had requested a lesser sentence citing medical conditions. Conversely, prosecutor Concilia Ncube argued that a reduced sentence would not serve the family’s best interests, considering the victim’s potential lifelong psychological trauma.
Mphoko had denied the allegations, claiming they were a conspiracy by senior family members to silence him regarding his biological mother. The High Court’s decision has effectively overturned his initial conviction.
Siqokoqela’s father, the former Vice President, is facing charges of criminal abuse of office. His appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court in June, paving the way for his trial to continue.
Mphoko was accused of abusing his office by ordering the release of two former Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINRA) executives, Moses Julius Juma and Davison Norupiri, who were being held at Avondale Police Station on fraud allegations in 2016.
The Supreme Court ruled that Mphoko’s appeal lacked merit, upholding the High Court’s decision to dismiss his application for discharge. This led to Mphoko returning to the Harare Magistrates’ Court to present his defense case.
According to the prosecution, Mphoko, as the sitting Vice President at the time, intentionally appeared at the police station and unlawfully ordered the release of the two executives, even driving them away in his car, despite their scheduled court appearance the next day.
The allegations against Mphoko stemmed from his actions on May 6, 2016, when Juma, the former ZINARA acting chief executive, and Norupiri, the finance committee chairperson, were arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission for fraud and criminal abuse of office.
Juma was later sentenced to 30 months imprisonment but remained a fugitive after failing to turn himself in.
