By Brighton Chiseva
ZAKA – A 24-year-old man, whose father is the village head, was denied bail at Zaka Magistrates Court on Tuesday after being charged with two counts of rape that have terrorized the local community.
Lovemore Chimbidzikai, son of Village Head Toendepi Chimbidzikai, faces allegations of assaulting a 73-year-old woman and a 41-year-old woman with mental retardation.
The accused was remanded in custody by Magistrate Pauline Nyalenda after the state, led by prosecutor Davyson V Mavenga, strongly opposed bail. Chimbidzikai is scheduled to appear at Chiredzi Regional Court for trial on November 11.
The court heard that the first incident occurred on September 16, 2025, in Matamba Village, Chief Bota, Zaka.
It is alleged that around 8 PM, Chimbidzikai approached the elderly victim in her room, dragged her outside, and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
In a poignant detail, the matter was reportedly brought to light when the survivor went to report the incident to the accused’s own father, the village head.
The second alleged offence took place on October 25, 2025, in Chimbidzikai Village. The state told the court that the accused approached his second victim, a 41-year-old woman with mental retardation who is under treatment for psychosis, while she was washing plates. He stood behind her and sexually assaulted her.
The survivor, due to her condition, failed to cry for help and went to her kitchen hut, where the accused followed and again forcibly had sexual intercourse with her without her consent. The matter came to light when the victim later told her husband.
In opposing bail, the state argued that the accused has a known propensity to commit rape, with pending cases at Zaka Police Station (CR 62/10/25 and CR 141/10/25) and another with the Chiredzi Regional Court.
The investigating officer labelled Chimbidzikai a flight risk, noting that after committing one crime, he relocated to the Chibwe area where he then committed another rape. His lack of strong family ties, despite his father’s position, was also cited as making it easy for him to abscond.
The state’s case relies on positive identification by the complainants and medical examination by a nurse who concluded that evidence of penetration was definite in both cases.
