Metro

Lusaka woman sues Zambian hotel Taj Pamodzi over alleged sexual abuse

Published

3 months ago

February 6, 2024

A Lusaka-based woman, Mwansa Charity Njelesani, has sued the management of popular Zambian hotel, Taj Pamodzi Hotel Plc, alongside one of its employee, Kenneth Musonda, over an alleged sexual abuse she suffered during a massage session at its Jiva Spa in 2022.

In the lawsuit filed in the Lusaka High Court, Njelesani, a resident of Lusaka’s New Kasama, is seeking compensation for the alleged sexual abuse after she accused Musonda, a masseuse at the hotel, of sexually assaulting her on May 24, 2022, by touching her private parts.

Njelesani said she first had a massage session at the hotel’s jiva spa on April 1, 2022, and on the day of the assault, only male masseuses were available.

The plaintiff said agreed to be attended by a male masseuse and Musonda professionly conducted the mesaage.

The suit filing stated that on May 24, 2022, she returned to Taj Pamodzi for another massage session and despite the availability of female masseuses, she recommended that Musonda attended to her owing to his previous professional conduct.

She then alleged that during the course of the session, Musonda started massaging “private and erogenous zones” on her body and that she immediately went into “tonic immobility.”

“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 lawsuit said.

“The first defendant (Musonda) then continued to assault her by asking her unbefitting questions such as if he could ejaculate on her to which the Plaintiff said no.”

She further alleged that the defendant attempted to pick her nipples to which she gained her mobility, moved her body away and managed to shove Musonda off.

“Being a former victim of sexual abuse, she was immediately retraumatized by the first defendant’s actions which led to her tonic mobility and her out of body experience.”

Njelesani said she informed the husband about the abuse and proceeded to report the defendant to hotel senior management.

“That after follow-ups with the second defendant, the hotel responded in writing to the Plaintiff on the 16th of June, 2022, stating that Musonda could not be found wanting. The Plaintiff further avers that the above response was given to her without her being availed with a proper investigation report,” the lawsuit stated.

Dissatisfied with management’s response, Njelesani said she requested that she and her husband be allowed to view the CCTV to prove the sexual abuse, but the CCTV did not have footage of the assault.

Njelesani stated that due to the sexual harassment, she suffered emotional harm, mental damage, re-trauma, depression, shock, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and financial loss and is seeking compensatory damages from Musonda for the indecent assault and the hotel to pay damages arising out of the negligent discharge of duty to carry out investigations and failure to provide a secure environment.

Related Topics:Featured Lusaka Sexual Abuse Taj Pamodzi

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Metro

‘Cyber Act fails to protect the vulnerable,’ Student demands media inclusivity for persons with disabilities

Published

17 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Peter Libila, a student at Icof University’s Chipata campus, highlights the lack of awareness among individuals with disabilities and those residing in rural areas about their digital rights, resulting in limited access to media platforms for free expression.

Libila underscored the marginalization of people with disabilities in discussions on community development, leading to their exclusion from voicing their perspectives.

In an interview with Zambia Monitor in Eastern Province, Libila discussed the discrimination and stigma faced by individuals with disabilities in the media landscape.

Read More: Differently-abled person speaks on challenges impacting freedom of expression in rural areas

“Persons with disabilities are often overlooked when it comes to community developments,” he emphasized.

Moreover, as someone with a physical disability, Libala pointed out shortcomings in the Cybersecurity Act which failed to adequately address online barriers to freedom of expression.

“The act fails to ensure online safety for all; it only offers protection to certain groups while neglecting others,” he asserted.

He stressed the importance of bridging these gaps to foster inclusivity within the media.

“There’s a lack of sign language interpreters in most media outlets, which poses challenges for the deaf community,” he observed.

Libila also emphasized the necessity of providing braille reading materials and writing tools for individuals who are blind.

“Even basic resources like braille books are often unavailable for the blind,” he lamented.

This story is sponsored content from Zambia Monitor’s Project Aliyense.

Metro

All my tough policy decisions are in Nigerians’ interest— Tinubu

Published

21 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has insisted that all his tough policy decisions and reforms have been taken with the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Tinubu, who made the assertion in Hague, The Netherlands, during the business session of the bilateral meeting with the Dutch team led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, insisted that though some of the policies had brought hardship on Nigerian masses, he was not afraid to implement more of such policies as they would yield positive results in the end.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I am ever ready to take tough decisions in the best interest of the people, even if with initial pains,” Tinubu said.

“I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain.

“We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.

“We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us.

“They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development.

“As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that.”

The President also noted that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.