A serial rapist who lured 11 women from Norton by promising them employment in Harare before raping and robbing them, has been jailed for 76 years. Trymore Musakanya (27) – jailed last Friday – was facing 22 counts of rape and robbery was convicted of 17 counts after a full trial. On the other five counts, the complainants did not show up, therefore the charges were dropped.

He raped the victims in a bushy area after telling them that he was a Satanist. Magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya sentenced him to a combined 92 years behind bars before setting aside 16 years for four years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period.

Musakanya will serve an effective 76 years in jail. In his defence, Musakanya denied the charges arguing that the women owed him money hence they were fixing him. He said he was in the business of money lending before producing some fake documents bearing his wife’s signature, wanting to give the impression that she was a witness during the transactions between him and the women.

He intended to call his wife as his witness but she refused to testify in his favour prompting the court to subpoena her as a court witness. She turned against her husband. The wife told the court that the signature, which was said to be hers on the papers produced by her husband, was forged.

She also dismissed Musakanya’s claims that he was in the money lending business. Musakanya’s wife professed ignorance on whether her husband committed the offences. Prosecutor Mr Ephraim Zinyandu proved that Musakanya started committing the offences sometime in September last year.

Musakanya met one of the victims aged 18. He lied that his sister was looking for a lady to work in her shop in Harare. The two proceeded to Harare and dropped off at Longcheng Plaza along Harare-Bulawayo road. It was around 3pm. Musakanya then started buying time until it got dark, telling the victim he was waiting for his sister to finish work.

He later pretended to make a phone call and lied to the girl that his sister had said they should go home and wait for her there. He then walked with the unsuspecting girl for two hours from Belvedere to Marlborough, heading towards Pomona.

When they got to a secluded bushy area Musakanya suddenly tackled the girl from behind. He told the girl to give in to his demands. Musakanya told the victim he was a Satanist and threatened to summon snakes and frogs to suck her breasts and have sex with her if she resisted.

The frightened girl knelt down and pleaded with Musakanya. He raped her. After the act, he robbed the girl of her mobile phone and other valuables. Using the same method, Musakanya lured all the victims to a bushy area close to the National Sports Stadium, the Pomona dumpsite and maize fields near Bluffhill industrial site where he raped and robbed them.

He raped all the women without protection. In his ruling, Mr Mujaya said Musakanya exposed the women to the risk of contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Other victims were set free after he realised that they were within their menstrual cycle. Musakanya was arrested after one of the victims identified him while walking in Norton and alerted the police.