‘I Could Not Remember Exact Date’: Rape acquittal sparks outcry as victim demands appeal

Gandanga, an adult woman, failed to remember the precise calendar date she was allegedly raped.“To me it appears as a shock as it proves that the magistrate entered court with the judgement already before the defence counsel could say out his intentions,” Gandanga wrote in a formal request to the National Prosecuting Authority.“The reason for the acquittal was that I could not remember the exact date the accused person raped me as an adult.”In a letter dated 9 April 2026, Gandanga pleaded with prosecutors to note an appeal, arguing the ruling amounts to a miscarriage of justice. She says the magistrate delivered the verdict without allowing the defence to formally close its case – after two witnesses had been lined up.“I may not be familiar with court proceedings, but this came as a shocker to me also,” she added.Legal observers note that requiring a rape survivor to pinpoint an exact date disregards the reality of trauma, where memory of peripheral details can fade while the core violation remains seared into the mind.Gandanga has asked for urgent guidance on the appeal process. The National Prosecuting Authority has not yet publicly responded.

Kadoma- Kadoma woman has launched a dramatic appeal for the state to challenge a magistrate’s decision to acquit a man of rape – because she, as an adult victim, could not recall the exact date of the attack. Rodah Gandanga, the complainant in the case of State v Patterson Fungai Timba, says the Kadoma Magistrates’ Court delivered a “shocking” acquittal on 30 March 2026, after the defence abruptly abandoned calling its witnesses and the magistrate immediately handed down a ruling. The reason for the acquittal?

Gandanga, an adult woman, failed to remember the precise calendar date she was allegedly raped. “To me it appears as a shock as it proves that the magistrate entered court with the judgement already before the defence counsel could say out his intentions,” Gandanga wrote in a formal request to the National Prosecuting Authority. “The reason for the acquittal was that I could not remember the exact date the accused person raped me as an adult.” In a letter dated 9 April 2026, Gandanga pleaded with prosecutors to note an appeal, arguing the ruling amounts to a miscarriage of justice.

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She says the magistrate delivered the verdict without allowing the defence to formally close its case – after two witnesses had been lined up. “I may not be familiar with court proceedings, but this came as a shocker to me also,” she added. Legal observers note that requiring a rape survivor to pinpoint an exact date disregards the reality of trauma, where memory of peripheral details can fade while the core violation remains seared into the mind. Gandanga has asked for urgent guidance on the appeal process.

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