HARARE: The trial of a Mabelreign man who allegedly sneaked into a co-tenant’s bedroom and had sex the unsuspecting wife who mistook him for her husband started Wednesday.

Nkosilathi Sibanda, 27, denied rape, arguing that he was close to the woman and they were about to fall in love.

“We had reached the point of falling in love,” he said.

However, the court gallery was cleared and the trial proceeded behind closed doors after the woman indicated that she was not comfortable revealing intimate details in presence of her relatives and the media.

This was after prosecutor Timothy Makoni asked her to explain how she discovered that it was not her husband she was having sex with when they were already intimate.

Asked where her husband was at 3am on the day of the incident, the woman told court that she was not aware and had tried calling him several times to enquire about his whereabouts to no avail.

“I was asleep; and the accused sneaked into my blankets and started touching me,” she explained.

“I caressed him back and we romanced for about eight minutes, he was pleased and was groaning in pleasure but I did not realise that he was not my husband.”

She continued; “We were both ready for sex so I did not realise that it was the accused.

“I only sensed he was not my husband when poked me with his manhood…the prickling sensation was different from my husband. My husband doesn’t poke me.”

Court heard that they never exchanged any words before they started caressing each other.

Prosecutor Makoni further asked her to explain how Sibanda was different from her husband, prompting the magistrate Hosea Mujaya to call him and the accused’s lawyer to his bench for consultations.

After the consultations, the woman was asked if she was comfortable giving evidence in presence of the public and she responded in the negative, resulting in the gallery being cleared.

Allegations against Sibanda arose last week when he reportedly took advantage of the absence of the complainant’s husband and crept into the woman’s bedroom during the night stark naked.

He then crawled into her blankets and started making love to her with the woman responded by touching him back and kissing him thinking it was her husband.

Court heard that she only realised that it was not her husband when they were already intimate after which she jumped out of bed and switched on the light.

Realising that it was her co-tenant, she screamed for help while slapping Sibanda, in the process awakening neighbours who rushed to the scene.

Sibanda apologised before he rushed to his room and dressed up. The case was subsequently reported leading to his arrest.

He is out of custody on $300 bail.