Terrence Mawawa, Zvishavane| An HIV positive man from the small mining town of Zvishavane left the local community stunned after allegedly raping three women.
Ngonidzashe Nhanga appeared before Magistrate Story Rushambwa last week, facing three counts of rape. Nhanga raped the women while he was fully aware of his HIV status.
Sometime in February this year, Nhanga broke into a house in the Makwasha area of Zvishavane and grabbed the first victim by the neck, undressed and threatened to kill her if she refused to cooperate. He raped her once around 2300 hours and disappeared.
On the same night, Nhanga proceeded to a nearby house where he raped a 24 year old woman. He switched off electricity at the house and ordered the woman to undress but she refused. Nhanga then forcibly removed the woman’s clothes and raped her once and ordered her to take a bath while he watched.
The woman managed to see Nhanga ‘s face through the dim light provided by the tower light. She pushed him down overpowering him in the way and ran to the police station where she reported the matter.
On March 26, Nhanga broke into another house where he stole two Nokia cellphones before raping the 17 year old girl who was sleeping. He threatened to kill the teen after raping her.
Upon hearing some noise Edward Maphose, the woman’s neighbour, woke up to investigate and hit a fleeing Nhanga who forgot his red jacket.
Nhanga was later arrested after the police tracked him using his jacket and he was remanded in custody to April 12 (today) after the initial court hearing.