ZANU PF ward 12 councillor in Gweru, Charles Simbi, yesterday appeared in court charged with raping his 16-year-old niece after luring her to a private lodge in the city.
Stephen Chadenga
Simbi, however, denied the charge claiming the teen’s mother had fabricated the charges to tarnish his political image after failing to extort money from him.
Allegations are that sometime in September last year, Simbi invited the girl to a lodge in Lundi Park and raped her at gunpoint after she had turned down his sexual advances.
The businessman allegedly went on to rape the girl on several occasions between September and November 2014.
The girl reported the matter to the police, leading to Simbi’s arrest on February 9.
Addressing the court under cross-examination, Simbi told regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire that at one point he employed the complainant’s mother at his night club in Mkoba 15, but fired her after she failed to account for some of her daily takings.
He alleged that the complainant concocted the rape charge after he declined to meet their unending financial demands.
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“At one point the relatives of the complainant’s mother phoned me when I was in Bulawayo asking for an out-of-court settlement for a crime I did not commit,” Simbi claimed.
Simbi, who is on $100 bail and is represented by lawyer Brian Dube, will reappear in court today for continuation of his defence case.
