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Munyaradzi Kereke

Chief Court Reporter
Judgment in the case in which convicted rapist and former Bikita West legislator Munyaradzi Kereke is seeking bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence was yesterday reserved to October 7. Kereke was jailed 10 years effective for raping his then 11-year-old niece at gunpoint.

Justice Happias Zhou reserved judgment saying he would want to go through submissions made by both the defence and private prosecution counsel.

Through his lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu, Kereke is seeking bail pending appeal arguing he has bright prospects of success on appeal. He wants the higher court to place him on $2 000 personal recognisance bond, among other stringent conditions, pending appeal.

But the private prosecution led by Mr Charles Warara argued that Kereke’s chances of success on appeal were nil to warrant his release on bail. Mr Warara said Kereke’s conviction was on the basis of overwhelming evidence which could not be challenged now.

Kereke, he said, failed in his attack on the judgment of the court a quo to demonstrate the misdirection which would warrant an appeal court to intervene.

A Harare regional magistrate, Mr Noel Mupeiwa, sentenced Kereke to 14 years behind bars, but set aside four years for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period. The court, however, acquitted him on charges of indecently assaulting the victim’s elder sister.

Kereke insists that the charges he was convicted of were fabricated by the complainants’ maternal grandparents after he refused to pay their school fees arrears. But Mr Mupeiwa said at the time the case was reported to police, the arrears had already been settled.