NPA seeks order to force Magaya's plea in rape case

A rape case stalling out because of legal maneuvers just got the prosecution pushing back hard in a Harare courtroom.

NPA wants Magaya forced into a plea

• Walter Magaya faces six rape counts from three women.
• NPA filed to compel his plea entry.
• Prosecutors called his court filings frivolous time-wasters.
• Victims deserve timely justice, the state argued.

Magaya's Constitutional Court play

• Magaya wants three charges bumped to the Constitutional Court.
• His argument cites prosecutorial misconduct and DNA irregularities.
• One complainant reportedly recanted her willingness to testify.
• That affidavit's existence was initially denied by prosecutors.

Defence claims around evidence handling

• Magaya says he got a later-dated witness statement.
• An Ireland-based complainant's statement was allegedly prosecutor-altered.
• His DNA was collected at Parirenyatwa Hospital without counsel.
• Test results still haven't been shared with his defence.