A 53-year-old landlord from Bulawayo was sentenced to community service when locking his female tenant in a room when he refused his progress.
The incident occurred on the evening of February 5, 2025, when Esau Sibanda approached his 36-year-old tenant, Mrs. Estel Mwembe, at her residence. Sibanda has always had inappropriate intentions and he demanded Mrs. Mwembe’s S3X favor, and when she firmly refused, the situation escalated.
Sibanda was furious for the refusal, insisting that Mrs. Mwembe paid the outstanding rent for the last month. Fearing about her safety, she retreated to the room, but Sibanda locked the door from outside and trapped her inside. For more than 12 hours, she has been locked up at home and cannot seek help.
It was not until around 11 a.m. the next day that the neighbors noticed her absence and caused an alarm. Their rapid intervention led to her rescue, and Sibanda was later arrested.
In court proceedings, Sibanda pleaded guilty to charges of illegal possession of drugs and kidnapping. Ms. Skhetile Moyo, ordinary judge in the West, presided over the case and sentenced him to 16 months in prison. However, the four months of the sentence were suspended for five years because he did not commit similar crimes during this period.
Prosecutors argued that Sibanda abused his power as a landlord to intimidate and coerce Mrs. Mwembe. “This behavior not only violates the rights of the tenant, but also undermines the trust that should exist between the landlord and the tenant,” the prosecutor said.
The remaining 12 months sentence was also suspended as long as he completed 560 hours of community service at the Njube Police Department. The court ruled that such punishment would be both a recovery for the criminal and a means of his active contribution to society.
