FORMER Masvingo Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Kudakwashe Bhasikiti’s rape trial commenced this Monday at Chiredzi Regional Court.
Bhasikiti aged 60, who is also the former legislator for Mwenezi East constituency, appeared before Chiredzi regional Magistrate, Judith Zuyu this Monday facing rape charges.
Appearing for the state, prosecutor Noel Muranda told the court that sometime in 2019, Bhasikiti allegedly went into a room at an unregistered orphanage that he ran at his farm in Mwenezi where the complainant was sleeping.
It is alleged that Bhasikiti approached the complainant and gagged her mouth with one of his hands while forcibly removing the complainant’s clothes.
The court heard that the accused then allegedly raped the complainant once. The matter only came to light last year in December after police received a tip off from one of the workers at the orphanage whom the complainant had confided in, leading to Bhasikiti’s arrest.
Bhasikiti served as the Minister of State for Masvingo Province from 2013 until his expulsion from government and ZANU PF in 2014.
