Gilbert Munetsi
Simbarashe Chadiwa is preparing for a public wedding in Harare, two years after presidential clemency opened the prison gates but left the rape conviction against his name untouched.
Supporters of the 35-year-old are planning a community-sponsored ceremony for September \nd have pledged to cover costs of wedding attire, catering, transport, décor, photography and entertainmen with Harare Gardens and Africa Unity Square among the venues under consideration. Sources say plans under consideration include an open-air celebration, live performances and a procession through central Harare, possibly involving the Zimbabwe Republic Police Band. The final venue, date and programme remain subject to approval and confirmation.
Organisers initially considered holding the wedding in Gokwe, but Chadiwa opted for Harare to make it easier for supporters and members of the public who have followed his story to attend.
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“The majority of people who have followed my story are in Harare and surrounding areas,” he told organisers. It would be easier for many people to attend here than travelling all the way to Gokwe.”
Chadiwa said the response had left him overwhelmed."I never imagined that one day people would come together like this because of me. For many years my name was associated with pain, shame and prison. Today, people want to celebrate my family and our future.”
He was convicted in 2015 of raping a 10-year-old girl and consistently maintained his innocence. The complainant later publicly withdrew the allegation, saying she had been pressured by her mother to implicate him when she was a child. Her mother has since died. Chadiwa was released on April 19, 2024, under presidential clemency, which ended the remaining period of imprisonment but did not erase the judgment against him. He therefore remains, in law, a convicted rapist.
Since his release, Chadiwa has settled in Mairosi Village under Chief Gumbero in Gokwe and formalised his union with Christabell Kudziwe by paying lobola at her family home in Manicaland. The couple recently welcomed a baby boy, Ayani.
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