HARARE – Lawyers representing Thabo Blessing Dube and Martin Charlie, the two men accused of raping socialite Ashley Masendeke (Mai Jeremaya) have questioned her testimony, claiming that her story contained inconsistencies that made it hard to believe her.
Earlier this week, Masendeke relayed how the two men had lured her to a lodge under pretenses and had sexual intercourse with her against her will. She also revealed that she had asked one of the men to put on a condom before the assault.
Cross-examining the socialite in court, Dube and Charlie’s lawyers, Shepherd Makonde and George Manokore, said they were puzzled by why Masendeke’s police statement differed from her testimony.
The influencer had claimed that she had been contacted by a man called Sam who had convinced her that a gig was in the offing for her before she met with the two accused.
“I take it it’s you who just saved his number as Sam because, according to the evidence before this court, you never met with this Sam,” said Makonde.
In response Mai Jeremaya said she had concluded that it was Dube who was using the pseudonym ‘Sam’ to lure her to the place where she was eventually raped.
This was disputed by Makonde, who said that they did not believe that Sam even existed.
“Our evidence suggests this ‘Sam’ character may be entirely fictional,” Makonde asserted during proceedings.
When pressed to provide cellular records or technical evidence linking the accused to the purported “Sam” communications, Masendeke acknowledged she lacked such documentation.
The case continues on Friday.
