By A Correspondent| Popular music promoter Charles ‘Torro’ Guvamatanga has laughed off allegations he raped his niece in a house with three other people without her raising alarm.
Torro who was arrested early this year over the allegations gave his defence before a Harare regional magistrate on Tuesday morning splashing mud on his accuser’s allegations.
He said he is a victim as the girl forced herself on him after he declined her sexual advances and she made the allegations as a counter after he had threatened to let her sisters know about the incident.
“Accused will demonstrate that complainant’s whole story is false and unbelievable. For example, why would she not scream when she allegedly saw that accused was about to rape her or even during the alleged rape or soon after since she knew her sisters were in the lounge just about 6m away.
“It is also curious why the tight-fitting clothing that the complainant was in did not show any signs of force and that when the complainant’s sisters inspected the alleged crime scene there was no evidence consistent with the allegations. These are poorly choreographed rape allegations by someone desperate to save face and embarrassed,” his lawyers submitted.
The alleged incident reportedly occurred after a drinking binge and Torro suspects the girl drugged him in the process before invading his bedroom.
His lawyers believe the girl is not a credible witness, producing video evidence showing the minor who was 17 in a no under 18 club, twearking and in tight fitting clothes despite her claims she was wearing baggy pants which made it easy for her alleged abuser to remove.
It is also their argument that her testimony has inconsistencies, having told the magistrate that she was awaken by Torro removing her trousers yet in her statement to the police, she said she was awakened by Torro touching her privates.
“He never raped complainant in the manner alleged or at all. In fact, he is the actual victim in this case because complainant committed an act of aggravated indecent assault upon him while he was in an involuntarily induced sleep and inebriation.
Torro says he was feeling weak and drowsy, thinking it was fatigue caused by lack of sleep after their night out clubbing and was shocked to see the girl naked.
“Accused will state that he suspects that complainant who had shown some unusual ‘interest’ in him earlier when they were clubbing could have drugged him and subsequently raped him while he was asleep.
“Accused was later shocked to see complainant in his bedroom, half naked when he was woken up by some unusual painful feeling of discomfort, the weight he felt over his body and rubbing of his penis against something.
“He was shocked to see complainant in his bed sitting on top of him holding his penis with her right hand and trying to force his penis into her vagina. Accused noticed she was half naked with her top on and pantie on which she had pulled by the side as she tried to force accused’s penis into her vagina. Complainant had removed her trousers she had been wearing earlier on,” his lawyer submitted.
“Accused told complainant that he was not going to have sex with her, to leave his bedroom and that he was not interested in what he was doing because they are somehow related as well. Complainant then forcefully then sat on accused’s face with her pantie, still pulled by the side demanding that accused give her oral sex by licking her vagina.
“Accused who was feeling very weak but was able to push her off his face as she was pleading with him to at least give her oral sex so that she could let him be and allow accused to sleep and rest.
“The rape allegations by complainant are clearly false, an afterthought and a counter report after accused told complainant that he was to go and report her conduct to her sisters. Complainant also felt very embarrassed after accused condemned her conduct, what she had done to him and obviously found it convenient to counter accused’s report so that she could appear as the victim when in actual fact she probably raped accused. She was also angry that accused had shown no interest in her, declined her invitation to have sex, thus was too embarrassed,” the lawyers added.