A male Zimbabwean athlete who won several awards in women's competitions in southern Africa has been sentenced to four years in jail for offensive behaviour, the prosecutor said. Samukeliso Sithole, 18, was arrested in February after a female friend lodged a complaint to police, saying that she had undressed in full view of the athlete, thinking that he was a woman. "He has been convicted of six counts of impairing the dignity of female athletes who undressed in his presence after he made them believe he was a woman," prosecutor Tapfumanei Nkonde told AFP.Mr Nkonde said Sithole, who wore stuffed bras, befriended women but was later exposed as a man by an uncle who alerted the athlete's female friends. "The uncle was also one of the prosecution witnesses and he said that Samukeliso used a false name when he took part in athletics competitions," the prosecutor said.
Sithole who insisted that he was a woman even after a doctor confirmed his sex, apologised to magistrate Oliver Mudzongachiso at the trial held in the central Zimbabwean town of Kwe Kwe.
He said he was desperate to earn a living as an athlete and decided to pose as a woman, the prosecutor said. Sithole claimed at the beginning of his trial that he was born female and developed male sex organs after a traditional healer cast a spell on him when he did not pay for treatment.
In recent years, Sithole has taken part in international youth athletic events such as hurdles, javelin, shot putt and triple jumping. In June last year, he won a gold medal for Zimbabwe at a regional athletics tournament in Botswana where he competed as a woman. He also bought two houses with money won at sports competitions.