Source: Mai Jeremaya trial: Accused takes to witness stand today – herald
Zvikomborero Parafini-Court Reporter
The man, accused of raping Mai Jeremaya but argues he paid her for the intimacy, is today expected to give his testimony when he takes to the witness stand at the Harare Magistrates Court.
Martin Charlie, who is being accused of raping the social media influencer together with his accomplice Thabo Blessing Dube, told the court in his defence that he hired her for sex on the day in question.
This is contrary to the State’s claims that the pair lured her and then gang-raped her at a lodge.
In their defence, the duo told the court that Mai Jeremaya, was the one who initiated the meeting via a text message to Charlie and denied the State’s claim that they contacted her first.
They told the court that upon arriving in the central business district, Mai Jeremaya was picked up by Charlie and they proceeded to Eastlea where they picked up Dube and his girlfriend.
The group returned to town to drop off Dube’s girlfriend and while they were in town, Charlie went to buy lunch leaving Dube and Mai Jeremaya in the car.
The duo claimed that while he was away, she got a chance to speak privately with Dube and revealed that she had recently separated with her husband and was desperate for money.
They told the court that she admired Charlie’s car, a double cab and his iPhone, describing him as well off before she proposed an hour of consensual sex for a fee of US$20.
Dube told the court that he conveyed the message to Charlie and the parties agreed to go to the lodge.
Charlie said he drove to the lodge and Mai Jeremaya demanded advance payment, which she was paid.
The duo told the court that after the encounter at the lodge, Mai Jeremaya unexpectedly demanded US$500, citing that she had given Charlie some “extras”.
Charlie told her that he could not afford such an amount and she reduced it to US$300, which he again said was steep. They told the court that Mai Jeremaya never expressed distress or lack of consent.
They claimed that she the later engaged private investigator Tafadzwa Chidawa, who kidnapped them and their parents demanding US$500, which they refused to pay. The duo claimed that the rape allegations emanated from the failed extortion attempt.
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