PAMODZI HOTEL TO PRODUCE CCTV FOOTAGE OF WHAT HAPPENED IN CASE OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY WORKER
By Correspondent
Taj Pamodzi Hotel Plc has submitted to the Lusaka High Court that it intends to produce the CCTV footage as part of evidence against the Lusaka woman claiming to have been sexually assulted during a massage session by its employee.
It contended that the alleged victim, Mwansa Charity Njelesani was infact the one who requested to be served by the alleged accused, Kenneth Musonda.
The hotel in its defence and counterclaim, has admitted that Musonda was a masseur in its Jiva Spa but have denied that he sexually assulted Charity-Mwansa in May, 2022.
It submitted that it was ready to produce the CCTV footage from the material date at trial, to show if indeed Charity-Mwansa was indecently assulted.
The defendant has thus, countersued the plaintiff and it is claiming damages for deceit and interest on the amount found due.
This is in a matter Charity-Mwansa has sued the hotal and Musonda in the Lusaka High Court, accusing the latter of sexually assaulting her on May 24, 2024 by touching her private parts and even asking if he could ejaculate in her.
She alleged that during the session, Musonda started massaging erogenous zones and she immediately went into tonic immobility.
“While in the state of tonic immobility, Musonda continued to assault her by touching and rubbing her clitoris and trying to stimulate her thighs and vagina further. The Plaintiff avers that while in the state of tonic immobility, she tried to wriggle away but felt trapped in her body ard helpless.
“The first defendant (Musonda) then continued to assault her by asking her unbefitting questions such as if he could ejaculate in her to which the Plaintiff said no,” she stated.
However, the hotel has contended that on all the two occasions that the plaintiff sought its services, there were female masseuses but she personally requested to be massaged by Musonda.
“The second defendant (Taj Pamodzi Hotel) will aver at trial that it was the Plaintiff who did personally request to be served by the first defendant stating that the first defendant was recommended by the Plaintiff’s cousin,” it stated.
The Hotel further submitted that when Charity-Mwansa first reported the matter, she told senior management that Musonda had ejaculated on her but could not produce evidence when management and Zambia Police requested for the same.
“It will aver at trial that investigations carried out by the 2 Defendant and Zambia Police established that the claims made by the Plaintiff were and are unfounded.
“The Plaintiff despite being given the opportunity to prove her case has up to date failed to prove her allegations against the first defendant,” the hotel stated.
The second defendant stated that it went further to to ensure impartiality in the internal disciplinary hearing and appointed Dr Kelvin Moyo Sokuni (private investigator) who reached out to Charity-Mwansa to hear her side of the story, but that, she refused to cooperate with the investigations.