Harare Magistrate, Hosea Mujaya, today postponed judgment in a case in which Independent End Time Message founder, Robert Martin Gumbura, is facing nine counts of raping six of his congregates, after he ordered an inspection at Gumbura’s residence where the sex crimes are alleged to have been committed.
Gumbura has however pleaded not guilty to the charges claiming he had consensual sex with the women.
Today, Gumbura led the State together with the police around the house in which he had sexual intercourse with the women which he claims was by consent.
Tomorrow, the State and the defence are expected to make their submissions before Mujaya.
Court number 16 at the Harare Magistrates Court was fully packed today as congregates; relatives, friends of Gumbura as well as some of the victims came to hear the judgment which was supposed to have been delivered today.
Clad in his prison garb, Gumbura appeared unshaken and wore a cheerful face at his residence.
As journalists arrived at his compound, Gumbura was cracking jokes and said: “You should at least have waited for me to put on a suit not this prison uniform.”
He added that he preferred to be covered by the State media as the private media seemed to have developed some hostility towards him.
During the inspection, he argued that there was no way he could have raped the female congregates of his church as the house where he had sexual intercourse with them was near to the site where builders who were constructing his 25 bedroomed house were working.
Gumbura’s compound comprises a total of seven houses and several cars were parked outside.
His wives told journalists that they had been fasting since their husband’s arrest and were confident that he would be set free after which they would move into their 25 bedroomed mansion which is near completion.
See related reading: