IN a new twist of events, a Harare man who is accused of raping his housemate’s unsuspecting wife yesterday denied the allegations and insisted that he had a love affair with the woman. Nkosilathi Sibanda (27) is alleged to have tiptoed from his bedroom while naked in the wee hours and got into the woman’s blankets under the cover of darkness. It is the State’s case that the accused started caressing and kissing his victim before raping her.

When the trial opened yesterday before magistrate Mr Hosiah Mujaya, Sibanda, through his lawyer Mr Tapiwa Makanza, told the court that the woman fabricated the rape charges to save her marriage.

He denied having sexual intercourse with the woman, saying they only caressed and she stopped him before they could be intimate. “On the day in question, he simply kissed and fondled her with her consent,” said Mr Makanza. “While fondling, the complainant came back to her senses and told him to stop.

“These allegations are trumped up since complainant is married, it is a way to cover up that they were not just housemates. It was not a fully fledged affair, but something was going on. They were in the process of getting into a relationship.” On the other hand, the woman insisted that Sibanda raped her.

She said they had been sharing the three-bedroomed flat since last year, with another lady identified as Mirriam occupying the third bedroom. She told the court that Sibanda lived alone. The victim said she became aware that it was not her husband when Sibanda penetrated her, adding that his manhood was different from that of her husband.

“I was awakened by a touching sensation at around 3am and since I was expecting my husband home, I thought it was him and I responded,” she said.

“As he was fondling me, he was sleeping by my side before he went on top of me. I could feel that he was heavier and his skin’s scent was different from that of my husband, but because I was sleepy, I just ignored it. The moment he penetrated that is when I realised it was not my husband; I could tell that the manhood was different. I then pushed him away and ran to switch on the light; that is when I saw it was the accused person and he was naked. I slapped him several times asking him why he took advantage of me, but he only said he was sorry.”

The woman said she rushed to Miriam’s room and told her what had happened before calling her relatives who then rushed to the flat. Prosecutor Mr Timothy Makoni asked the woman to tell the court how she managed to know that Sibanda’s manhood was not that of her husband. She was at pains to answer the question before requesting to have the gallery cleared. The matter continued behind closed doors.