Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
THE rape trial involving socialite Mai Jeremaya hit a dramatic end yesterday after the man she is accusing of raping her, narrated how she was allegedly a willing participant in the sexual act that occurred on April 30.
Martin Charlie, the second accused, told the court that after he picked up Mai Jeremaya, they went to a fast-food outlet in town before going to the lodge.
“After we met on the day in question, in the company of the first accused Thabo Blessing Dube, we went to Joina City, where I disembarked and left Mai Jeremaya and Dube sitting in the car.
“I went to KFC where I bought my food and ate in there before going back to the car. When I came back to the car, Dube advised me that Mai Jeremaya was offering sexual services, so I looked back at her to confirm if Dube was telling me the truth and she said yes,” he said.
“I looked at Dube and we both laughed, then I looked at her again and asked her if she was serious and she said yes.
“I then asked her of the charges and she said she wanted US$20 per hour. I then asked her where we would engage in the sexual activity and she said at a lodge.”
Charlie’s lawyer Mr Shepherd Makonde asked him which lodge they went to and he told the court that they went to one along Zororo Duri Avenue, formerly Frank Johnson Avenue.
“What would be your comment if complainant told this court that when you left Joina City you were going for a shoot at some company,” asked Mr Makonde.
“I dispute that because when we left Joina City, we had agreed that we were going to the lodge for the sexual activity,” responded Charlie.
Charlie was also asked to comment on claims that he was intimidating Mai Jeremaya on the day in question.
“That is not true because we were playing music and laughing on the way, no one was afraid,” he said.
Charlie’s lawyers also probed him to respond to Mai Jeremaya’s allegation that Dube was the first to disembark upon their arrival at the lodge.
“That’s not true because I am the one who had agreed to engage in a sexual activity with Mai Jeremaya, so he had no reason to get inside the lodge,” he said in response.
The lawyer further said: “It is claimed that you had forced sexual intercourse with Mai Jeremaya but you have told the court that it was consensual. Can you narrate what happened when you got into the room?”
In response, Charlie said when they got into the room, he closed the door and they sat on the bed, and Mai Jeremaya asked for her payment upfront, which was then made and they became intimate.
He said afterwards, Mai Jeremaya started demanding US$500, saying she offered him extra services.
She then reduced it to US$300 but Charlie said he didn’t have that kind of money, before the two took a shower, left the lodge for town and booked a taxi to take her home.
Asked for his views about the possible source of the rape allegations, Charlie said he didn’t know “because she didn’t show any signs of distress on the day in question, but I think she wanted to preserve her marriage after she had been caught engaging in extra marital sexual activities”.
“On May 3, she called me asking about my whereabouts and she came with Tafadzwa Chidawa, who asked me how I could have sex with Mai Jeremya for US$20 instead of US$500 that she was demanding.
“She never screamed during the act and she did all she could for us to enjoy and the place was full that if she had screamed for help, she would have been assisted,” he said.
In cross-examination, prosecutor Ms Cecilia Mashingaidze accused Charlie of lying to the court because from his narration, there was nothing out of the ordinary that could be deemed to be “extras”.
Both counsels are expected to file their closing submissions today and the presiding magistrate Mrs Letwin Rwodzi will hand down her judgment on July 4.
