Court acquits duo accused of sodomy

22 year-old Joseph Muchena and Sydney Chirombe aged 49 years had been on trial since early July on charges of committing sodomy in contravention of Section 73 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.

State prosecutors claimed that Muchena, who was represented by Kennedy Masiye of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and Chirombe, who was represented by Shadreck Chisoko acted unlawfully when the two men allegedly performed anal sexual intercourse on 15 May 2014 while in a vehicle parked along Godwin road in Willowvale industrial area in Harare.

But Muchena and Chirombe on Monday 28 July 2014 walked to freedom after being acquitted at the close of the State case by Harare Magistrate Renika Dzikiti who ruled that there was no evidence produced in court to prove an essential element of the offence.

The acquittal of the duo came after their lawyers applied for discharged at the close of the State case after arguing that their clients had not committed the alleged offence.

In denying the charge, Muchena, who is employed by Chirombe at his night club in Harare's high density suburb of Budiriro, contended that the State which led evidence from three witnesses Obert Anovi, Tichaona Nyamurondo and Rutendo Nyahondo had failed to prove a prima facie case against him and hence no reasonable court could convict him for committing the offence.

The State, Muchena said, had produced an affidavit, prepared after a medical examination carried out at a local hospital, as evidence, which clearly showed that there was no penetration while the State witness' evidence was so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable court could safely act on it.