By Panashe Karidzagundi.
A 36-year-old Beitbridge transport operator appeared before the Beitbridge Regional Court facing a rape charge involving a 16-year-old schoolgirl.
Ronald Zhou appeared before Regional Magistrate Charity Maphosa on Tuesday this week facing a charge of rape.
Prosecutor Olivia Chamutinya alleged that, sometime in November 2025, Zhou lured the complainant, a Form Four pupil at Chamnangana Secondary School, to Jopembe Road after telephoning her and claiming that her brother had sent groceries for her.
Chamutinya said, the minor met Zhou at the roadside and was instructed to get into his Toyota Probox to collect the parcels.
Once inside the vehicle, the court heard, Zhou allegedly locked the doors and proposed a romantic relationship.
After the girl rejected his advances, Chamutinya alleged that Zhou forced her onto the back seat and had unprotected sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
Chamutinya alleged that Zhou warned the complainant not to disclose the incident before allowing her to return home.
The matter reportedly came to light months later when the girl’s mother noticed signs that she was pregnant.
The minor later identified Zhou as the person responsible, leading to a report being made at ZRP Makhado.
Giving evidence, the complainant told the court that she trusted Zhou because he claimed to have been sent by her brother.
She testified that after she entered the vehicle, he proposed love, and when she refused, he forced himself on her.
She said she was unable to escape because the vehicle doors were locked and later went home without immediately reporting the incident.
The complainant’s mother, Portia Nhare, and her aunt, Lillian Moyo, also testified, telling the court that the minor later disclosed the alleged rape after her pregnancy was discovered.
In his defence, Zhou denied the allegations.
He told the court that he first met the complainant while transporting passengers to a cattle sale and admitted proposing a relationship but denied ever having sexual intercourse with her.
He said the complainant later contacted him and requested to meet him while he was attending a funeral.
Zhou said the complainant suggested they have sexual intercourse, but he declined and no sexual encounter took place.
Zhou also disputed parts of the State’s evidence, saying that the vehicle described by the complainant was not the one he owned at the time of the alleged offence.
Zhou alleged that police officers forced him to admit to the offence after his arrest and requested that DNA testing be conducted, maintaining that he is not responsible for the complainant’s pregnancy.
The complainant indicated in court that she had no objection to DNA testing.
The matter was postponed to Wednesday this week for the continuation of the defence case.