Nkulumane ZRpolice officer rapes suspect in cells

ZRP officer

A POLICE constable based at Nkulumane Police Station in Bulawayo has been arrested for allegedly repeatedly raping a female suspect detained at the holding cells overnight.

The incident allegedly occurred on Saturday at about 1am. The woman who is believed to be in her early 20s and stays in Nkulumane 12 was arrested on Friday on allegations of destroying household property during a fight with her husband.  The husband is said to have returned to the police station to withdraw charges but was told that it was too late.

Sources close to the case said the constable who lives at the station opened the cells at about 1am where the woman was detained and raped her three times. During the act, it is said, the constable dropped his cellular phone. The woman then tried to call her husband to tell him what had happened but the phone had insufficient funds.

“The woman was involved in a fight with her husband on Friday and during the fight, she grabbed a DVD player and smashed it against the floor. The husband then took her to the police station and made a report and the police detained her in the holding cells,” said the source.

“The husband came in the evening to file an affidavit to withdraw the charges but the police declined to release the woman saying it was too late and he should come in the morning.”

The source said the woman was then taken to the holding cells where she was to spend the night.

“The constable who was guarding the cells overnight discovered that the woman was alone and opened the cells at about 1am.

“He then went on to rape her three times,” said the source.

“As the constable was committing the offence, the woman tried to fight him but she was overpowered. The constable dropped his mobile phone during the tussle and left it inside the cells after committing the offence.

“The woman then discovered that the constable had dropped his phone and tried to use it to call her husband. However, she could not contact her husband because the phone had no airtime.”

The source said the constable later discovered that he had dropped his phone in the cells and returned to collect it.

“The matter came to light when the constable returned with a senior police officer some minutes later for a routine check on the cells. When the senior police officer reached the woman’s cell, he asked if everything was okay,” said the source.

The police conduct routine checks on cells in the urban areas to check if there is order and that the policeman manning them is on site.

“The woman then narrated her ordeal to the senior officer leading to the constable’s arrest.”

The incident shocked police officers who live at the station. They said it was embarrassing for the constable to commit such a thing a few months after graduating.

“He graduated a few months ago and we are shocked what got into his head.

“We also understand that he has a girlfriend who is also a police officer based at the station so it beats me why he decided to rape the suspect,” said a policeman who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Efforts to get a comment from Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Bekinkosi Ndlovu yesterday were fruitless as he was said to be in a meeting. However, this paper is reliably informed that the constable will appear in court today.