AS HER neighbour offered Juanita Greenhalph a cup of tea during a get together BBQ, she was touched by the friendly gesture.
Taking her first sip the grandmother had no idea of the horrific ordeal that would follow just an hour later.
As she carried on drinking Juanita, 62, felt ‘whoozy’ and her vision blurred having been unknowingly spiked by her neighbour Meynard Murambakanda.
When she next opened her eyes, Murambakanda raped her twice after spiking her tea and after the horrific attack, he stole money out of her bank account.
Murambakanda, 34, was sentenced to eight years and now Juanita has waived her right to anonymity to share her story.
Juanita, a retiree who used to work as a barmaid, says: “When I was invited to Meynard’s BBQ I was excited as I didn’t usually socialise or leave the house.
“It was a beautiful sunny day with all the neighbours but it turned into the worst day of my life.
“I am now haunted by the memory of accepting that cup of tea, and how stupid I’d been.
“But I now know none of it was my fault. He’s a monster who preyed on me.”
In 2020, Juanita, from Manchester, was 58 and living at home alone. She was retired and struggling with type 2 diabetes and a bad back.
Her four children, all in their 30s and 40s, had left the nest years before.
She says: “Their dad and I divorced in 2003 and I’d been alone for the past 17 years.
“I barely left the house. I only left to get food from the shops.
“Every morning, I had a carer visit to give me my medication and help me with breakfast.
“My life had become very lonely.”
In May that year, she got chatting to one of her neighbours, Murambakanda. They’d seen each-other but had never spoken.
She says: “I was sprawled out on my deck chair in my front garden when Meynard walked past again.
“This time he stopped and introduced himself. He told me he lived with his mother, around the corner.
“The next day, he came back and chatted again. He seemed very sweet.
“Admittedly, I never thought I’d find love again. But Meynard’s attention made me feel good inside. It had been so long.
“The next day he came for a walk down the canal with me, my daughter, her partner and my granddaughter.
“I was glad to have made a new friend.
“But as Meynard was so interested in my life, I wondered if there was more between us.
“It had been years since I’d been with a man, I felt special.”
Later that week, Murambakanda hosted a neighbourhood BBQ in his back-garden. To Juanita’s delight, he invited her to join.
She says: “I was excited as I never left the house. He took me into the back garden and I recognised lots of my neighbours and locals.
“I sat with them and we all had a nice catch up. Whilst Meynard did the BBQ and kept disappearing inside.
I pleaded with him to stop, but he laughed and continue
Juanita Greenhalph
“Due to my diabetes meds, I hadn’t drank alcohol for nine years. So I stuck to water.”
After a few hours, Murambakanda ran out of meat for the BBQ and Juanita kindly offered to walk to Lidl to get more.
Murambakanda insisted on joining her, and as she paid for the extra steaks and sausages, he helped her with her bags.
Juanita says: “Back at the BBQ, Meynard offered me a cup of tea, my thought was, ‘how sweet of him.’
“I thanked him, and he made me a nice brew.”
But just an hour after drinking her tea, Juanita began to feel woozy.
“I told him I felt very tired and my eyes were heavy,” she recalls.
“He told me I should have a lay down, before helping me out of the garden to go inside.
“My vision went very blurry, then everything went black.
“When I next opened my eyes, I was on Meynard’s bed. He was on top of me, raping me.
“I pleaded with him to stop, but he laughed and continued. My eyes were still droopy and I drifted off again.
“When I next woke, he flipped me over and raped me from behind. I tried to stop him, but I lost consciousness again.”
Juanita woke up again to Murambakanda holding a wet towel on her head, telling her that she was sweating.
She fell unconscious again, and woke up in a silent house the next morning, realising Murambakanda and the neighbours were gone.
Juanita says: “I broke down in tears and rang my daughter. I begged her to come pick me up.
How to report a sexual assault
- Contact a doctor or practice nurse at your GP surgery.
- Contact a voluntary organisation, such as Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, Victim Support, The Survivors Trust or Male Survivors Partnership.
- Call the 24-hour freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247.
- Speak to the rape and sexual abuse support line run by Rape Crisis England and Wales – you can call the helpline on 0808 500 2222 or use the online chat (both are free and are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year).
“Half an hour later she came with her partner. I was sobbing uncontrollably. I had agonising pain below, my daughter was horrified.”
Back at Juanita’s home, her daughter realised that her mum’s bank card was missing.
“She went onto my banking app and saw £650 had been withdrawn,” Juanita says.
“I realised Meynard must’ve seen my pin number when I bought the meats at Lidl. He stole my money.
“I pulled down my top and showed my daughter my bruises. I told her he drugged me with a cup of tea and raped me.
“I was hysterical. I also felt like it was all my fault. I felt stupid.”
Juanita’s daughter helped her ring the police and 20 minutes later, two police officers arrived.
Whilst Juanita was taken to the rape clinic to have swabs taken, police couldn’t find Murambakanda.
Two weeks later, they tracked him down at his house, and was arrested.
Whenever I thought I could no longer live with such pain, I looked at photos of my grandkids. They kept me alive
Juanita Greenhalph
Juanita says: “He denied seeing me that day but police had CCTV footage of us together at the shops, and the bank confirmed he’d withdrawn the money.
“Although Meynard was charged, and remanded, I lived in fear every day after that.
“Every time I looked out my bedroom window, I thought I saw him in the bushes, watching me.
“I couldn’t sleep. I ended up moving my bed from the window, and keeping my curtains shut.
“Months later my daughter gave birth to my second grandchild but I was so depressed I didn’t meet her.
“Due to my PTSD, I missed the first year of my new granddaughter’s life. I shut my family out.
“But, whenever I thought I could no longer live with such pain, I looked at photos of my grandkids. They kept me alive.”
In March 2023, Meynard Murambakanda, now 34, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape against at Manchester Crown Court.
Juanita says: “I was too terrified to see him again, I stayed away from court.
“But my case officer visited me, to break the news of his eight year sentence. The court also ordered Meynard to be deported back to Africa after his sentence.
“I burst into tears. For such a long time, I lived in fear and shame.
“Meynard knew I was very vulnerable when we met and he targeted me, taking my kindness for weakness.
“Now, I’m trying to make it up to my kids and grandkids for lost time. And I’m getting my strength back, day by day.
“If you have been assaulted, please tell someone. There will be people there to help you. It’s never your fault.”
