adminLatwell Nyangu
SOUTH Africa-based Zimbabwean actor, Jerome Galiao, was granted bail when he appeared at the Randburg Magistrates’ Court in Johannesburg yesterday for allegedly bashing his wife, Nerissa.
The 38-year-old actor, who stars in South African soap, Scandal, as Dr Nyasha Mugari, was granted bail after his wife consented to it.
But, he remained in custody after he failed to pay the money.
He will be back in court on April 17.
The pair’s relationship seems to have irretrievably broken down as evidenced by Nerissa’s refusal to pay bail for him, saying his relatives should bail him out.
Nerissa did a live recording on Jerome’s official Facebook account yesterday narrating the assault which led to his incarceration.
“I did get Jerome arrested, H-Metro is not lying. It’s a true story. I didn’t tell you why, it was physical violence.
“I was at court this morning and told the court that I am not fearing for my life and he can get bail, but he is not allowed to come to the house.
“I am also getting a restraining order (against him) despite him being granted bail. He will get out if he pays for his bail and go to the place he gave to the court,” she said.
She narrated what transpired over the weekend.
“I have so many people phoning and asking me, and it’s overwhelming.
“I did not even tell my own relatives. I didn’t want people to overwhelm me by keeping asking me because I was going through a lot.
“He attacked me while I was asleep. I am not doing this to ruin his life, but I am telling my side of the story. I don’t know which side of the story he is going to tell.
“It’s not the first time he has attacked me physically. He did it before and I called the cops.
“He then begged me to drop the charges and promised not to do it again.
“I dropped the charges, I didn’t want to be the master of his demise.
“And, this case happened over the weekend, my friend was here. This is the first time it happened when there was a witness. I called the police because domestic violence is not okay. I cannot be constantly subjected to being beaten.”
Nerissa, who has been running Jerome’s Facebook page all along, said the relationship was not working.
“I am an admin on this page. It was not good, there has been a case of alcohol abuse, if he wants to talk about his story, he will say it.
“If I wanted to ruin his career, I would have done a live recording over the weekend and told you while I was crying and emotional.
“He is not a horrible person, I love him, but I don’t think the relationship is going forward after this whole thing.
“So, I am going to leave the administration of the page. I just came here to tell my side of the story, obviously there are two sides to every story.
“I am not going to tell you why he attacked me. It was a silly issue; his reasons had no basis to beat anybody. No one has a right to beat anybody. I spoke about mental health and depression, but I never mentioned all this physical abuse.”
Jerome, who grew up in Mbare, made a breakthrough as an actor on the Zimbabwean drama series, Estate Blues, and was also a presenter on the ZBC show, Youth.com.
He made his first appearance on the soap Scandal, on December 28 last year.
Jerome is also a model and has featured on a number of TV adverts for leading brands like Playboy, Spar Braai Master, Standard Bank and Outsurance.
He is also a fitness trainer, who spends a lot of his time in the gym and is a brown belt judo marshal.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter