MNCEDISI Twala, who has accused Zanu PF chairman John Nkomo of sodomising him in 2002, has skipped the country to South Africa where he plans to take his case to the African Union parliament.
Twala told the Zimbabwe Independent two weeks ago that he is seriously considering taking the sodomy case to the African Union parliament in Midrand, South Africa.
He said he hoped he would “find willing people to hear his case without fear or favour” as he suspects that Zimbabwean authorities would sweep it under the carpet.
Twala made a shock allegation in August that Nkomo, who is tipped to be the next Vice President, lured him to a Bulawayo hotel room under the guise of discussing business and sexually assaulted him.
A day after reporting the matter to the police, Twala was arrested for allegedly making false claims.
A source close to Twala told the Independent that Twala has since fled to South Africa.
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Police have indicated that he would be brought to court by way of summons.
“Twala is in South Africa. He was getting irritated and frustrated by the delay in his case to be heard in court. So he left two weeks ago to fend for his family,” said the source.
Another reason, the source said, was “constant calls at odd hours at his home from people who were refusing to identify themselves but probing in threatening language about the sodomy case.”
After repeated attempts to make a report since 2002, Twala — who has been residing in South Africa — finally made a report in August.
Police initially wanted to charge Twala with armed robbery but dropped the charge later.
He was only released after the senior public prosecutor at the Tredgold Magistrates Court in Bulawayo, Simon Nleya, told the police to further investigate the case.
Last week Nleya said both Twala and Nkomo were “still technically under investigation”.
In several interviews with Twala, he said he felt “abandoned” by Lawyers for Human Rights whom he claimed were developing “cold feet” over his case.
But he maintains that he is not being used politically as some of Nkomo’s supporters are alleging. They say the sodomy case is a smear campaign aimed at blocking Nkomo from being appointed Vice President.
Nkomo is seen as the front-runner in the race for Zanu PF’s second Vice President.
Others in the race are deputy Senate Speaker Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu, politburo member Obert Mpofu, and Cain Mathema.
Nqobile Bhebhe
