S v BANANA 2000 (1) ZLR 607 (S)

Flynote

Constitutional law — Constitution of Zimbabwe 1980 — Declaration of Rights — s 23 — prohibition of discrimination on grounds of gender — consensual sodomy between adults — criminalisation of — whether criminalisation of consensual sodomy between male adults violates the anti-discrimination provision

Criminal law — common law crimes — sodomy — consensual sodomy between adults — criminalisation of — not contrary to anti-discrimination provisions of Constitution

Criminal procedure (sentence) — common law crimes — sodomy — both parties consenting adults and act committed in private — imprisonment not proper

Criminal procedure (sentence) — general principles — suspended sentence — conditions — compensation for damage or pecuniary loss — court's discretion — portion of sentence suspended on condition of payment to complainant of sum of money as compensation for sexual assaults perpetrated on him

Evidence — sexual cases — cautionary rule — no longer warranted in Zimbabwean law — need for evidential basis to suggest witness unreliable

Evidence — sexual cases — complaint — evidential value of — when admissible

Evidence — similar fact evidence — when admissible — striking similarity test — not an indispensable element of admissibility — test to be applied

Evidence — single witness — caution to be taken — whether corroboration is essential