MANIPULATIVE SADIST MADZIBABA GATHRY SENT TO JAIL FOR 20 YEARS AS RAPE OF A TEENAGER NAILS HIM

MADZIBABA Gathry has been described as a “manipulative sadist” who is a danger to society by a regional magistrate, who jailed him for TWENTY years for raping a teenager. Harare Regional Magistrate Estere Chivasa also sentenced Madzibaba Gathry’s wife, Diana Chauke, to an effective 15 years in jail after ruling that she took part in the offence. She described it as unacceptable that a self-styled healer demanded sex from the daughter of a desperate mother who had sought spiritual assistance for her two mentally challenged children.

In a detailed judgment delivered yesterday, Magistrate Chivasa said the testimony of the 13-year-old complainant was truthful, consistent and free from any signs of coaching. The complainant’s mother, who had been jointly charged with the couple, was acquitted. The court accepted that she acted under duress after allegedly being threatened with a firearm.

Magistrate Chivasa said the child’s testimony was remarkably consistent with both the medical evidence and the account given by her mother. “I found her to be a credible witness. She managed to answer the questions put to her and remained consistent even under cross-examination,” she said.

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She said the child gave a chilling account of the abuse and displayed no signs that she had been coached, despite Madzibaba Gathry’s insistence that her mother had influenced her testimony. The court noted that when the child demonstrated what had happened to her in court, the demonstration clearly depicted sexual intercourse while remaining consistent with the medical findings. Magistrate Chivasa said all three accused persons admitted that a disturbing incident had occurred during the healing session, effectively placing themselves at the scene and in close proximity to the complainant.

The magistrate said the child made a prompt report of the abuse, telling her mother the following day, which strengthened the credibility of her allegations. “The bottom line is that she made a prompt report. “There is nothing to suggest that her mother influenced her,” the magistrate said. The court heard that after the assault, the complainant had soiled her underwear while cleaning herself and the evidence surrounding the clothing was consistent with her account.

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