Bev escapes jail sentence
Raunchy dancer Beverly Sibanda has been banned from having physical contact with her fans or else she faces being locked up for two months. Sibanda on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening the Censorship and Entertainment Act.
Bev, as she is fondly known, was on Tuesday arrested for performing erotic dances with fans on stage at Private Lounge Night Club and at Airport Lounge in violation of her licence.
Through her lawyer Mr Jivas Mudimu of Madotsa and Partners, Bev accused her security personnel of failing to control crowds at the shows before making a public apology in court.
The Sexy Angels leader, who had left the stage for Prophet Walter Magaya’s Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries, said ecstatic fans leapt onto the stage upon seeing her after a long absence from show business when she had “repented”.
She attributed some of her actions to youthfulness as she is only 23-years-old. Beverly pleaded for the court’s leniency, arguing that if she was to be sent to prison, her child would be the most affected.
“Your Worship, her fans were overjoyed to see her on stage after her non-appearance on stage for sometime and some of them were drunk and would jump on stage to welcome their queen of dance,” said Mr Mudimu.
“As a mother, giving her a custodial sentence or community service will not only hamper her but the child as well since she is playing both the motherly and fatherly role.
“Your Worship, she has sent me to send an apology to the public, State and the court and to tell everyone that she will not repeat the same mistake in the near future.”
Prosecutor Ms Francesca Mukumbiri, asked the court to punish Beverly, arguing that as a Zimbabwean, she should follow the rules and regulations of the land.
“She might say that on the Carnival Samba night she was copying the Brazilians, but your worship the accused must know that she is a Zimbabwean not a Brazilian hence should abide by the rules and laws,” she said. “There is no justification for her over-excitement during her shows and her excuses do not hold water.”
Last Friday, Beverly performed at Private Lounge Night Club, where she invited male patrons on stage and moved into the audience. On the other count, Beverly performed at Airport Lounge along Airport Road on May 23, where she again invited a man onto the stage.
She breached a condition of Censorship certificate ‘C’ which prohibits physical contact between an artiste and her audience during strip tease performances. The pictures, which were taken during her performances, were viewed by the Censorship Board and were said to be indecent. The pictures were produced in court as exhibits.
Bev ultimately escaped jail by a whisker when magistrate Mr Donald Ndirowei set aside two months for five years on condition she does not commit a similar offence within that period.
She was also ordered to pay $100 fine or risk going to prison for 60 days.
It’s not the first time Beverly has been arrested.
In September 2012 Beverly and her fierce rival Zoey Norleen Sifelani were arrested following complaints about their explicit dance routines.
The arrests had come a few days after Police Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka issued a warning that the dancers risked being arrested for public indecency.
“Dancing is not bad if they dance with their clothes on but when they remove their clothes and become semi naked in full view of the public, then it becomes an offence.
“That is not acceptable and if they continue doing that they will be arrested and be charged with public indecency. Besides, that is against our moral values as a nation,” Mandipaka said at the time.
