Chronicle Editor
Musician Sjava has denied raping Lady Zamar.
In a statement released by his record label Ambitiouz on Tuesday, Sjava refuted the rape allegation and also hinted that Lady Zamar might have opened the case against him in a bid to evade the defamation lawsuit he filed against her in the Johannesburg High Court after claiming on social media that he sexually violated and abused her.
“Okokuqala, angimdlwengulanga uLady Zamar. (I did not rape her),” said Sjava who was on Tuesday pulled off the line-up of artistes scheduled to perform at the Cape Town International Jazz festival by the organisers as a result of the case.
He said the problem started in October 2019 when she made the accusation on Twitter after his One Night with Sjava Show on October 27 last year.
He said on November 1, he sent a letter of demand to her manager requesting her to retract the false accusation but she ignored it. He further said on November 13, his lawyers served summons on her from the Johannesburg High Court demanding that she retracts the statement.
Instead, Sjava said the Collide hit-maker opened a case of rape against him on November 14 in Pretoria. He said he was only contacted by police from Thohoyandou on December 5 who questioned him about the alleged rape.
“I gave my statement. They also got some statements from the witnesses who were with us going to, during and coming back from the trip,” reads the statement.
Sjava said his lawyers sent Lady Zamar’s discovery of notice to her lawyers informing them of the lawsuit trial on February 24 this year.
He went on to accuse the police of breaking protocol by allegedly talking to the media about his case despite the musician not having been charged yet, adding that he could not remain silent due to the massive attention the case was getting and the effect it was having on him. – Sowetan
Online Reporter