Published by the government of Zimbabwe
25 April 2006
Harare — A FAMILY of God pastor in Mt Darwin has been arrested on allegations of raping his housemaid on Independence Day.
The housemaid, aged 18, was however, also arrested on allegations of stealing $16 million cash and clothes at Pastor Tobias Chinoda's house on the same day. They are both still in police custody and will appear in court soon facing rape and theft charges, respectively. According to the police, Chinoda (47) arrived home at around 9pm from a church meeting in Chitungwiza. Although Chinoda had attended the church service in Chitungwiza with his wife, he left her in Harare and returned to his home on his own. It is alleged that when he got home he found the maid watching television in the company of two other women.
The housemaid then served him food and Chinoda went to sleep in his bedroom. It is alleged that the following day at around 2am, Chinoda reportedly woke up, opened the door to the housemaid's bedroom and raped her once. Mashonaland Central acting provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Taurai Machekera said the housemaid's door was not locked. "At about 10 in the morning, the assailant (Chinoda) went to Mt Darwin Secondary School to attend the Independence Day celebrations," he said. As if the maid wanted to fix Chinoda, she also reportedly ransacked the house and stole money and various clothing belonging to Chinoda's daughter before fleeing to her rural home in Rushinga. Chinoda returned home later and discovered the theft.
A report was made to the police resulting in the housemaid's arrest. Police recovered $1 million cash, clothing and groceries worth over $9 million. She was taken to a police station where she revealed that Chinoda had allegedly raped her leading to Chinoda's subsequent arrest. "We are still investigating the case and the two are still in police custody," said Asst Insp Machekera.
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