A 40-year-old man from Harare has been released from court after rape charges against him were withdrawn ahead of appeal.
This comes after the prosecution admitted that the complainant had mistakenly considered him the suspect.
Tarauki Mbombwe was awaiting trial for the rape of his 17-year-old neighbour, but before the trial began on Monday, the state withdrew the charges against him due to a case of mistaken identity by the complainant.
The complainant was raped at knifepoint on 8 December last year, at around 1am, by a man wearing only a jacket, who smashed down her door, made sure the lights were off, and forced the children in the same room to rape her. Cover their heads.
The next day, the complainant returned to her home and told her story to one of the tenants, who then accompanied her to the police, which led to Mbombwe’s arrest. However, it was later proven that Mbombwe was mistakenly identified as the rapist. Announce
