By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Two men have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a Zimbabwean commedian Ashley Chida well known as Mai Jeremiah and now face accusations potentially involving over 100 additional victims.
Thabo Blessing Dube, 27, and Martin Charli were apprehended by Matrix Private Investigations after they allegedly lured Mai Jeremaya, a prominent figure, under the guise of being clients responding to her social media advertisements.
The incident is reported to have occurred on April 30th.
Mai Jeremaya shared her experience in an emotional Facebook post, detailing how the pair allegedly stalked her for weeks.
“On this fateful day, I was alone… I thought I was walking into an office. Before I knew it, one blocked the door while the other locked it. They both took turns to rape me,”she wrote
She stated that she received medical treatment and reported the matter to Waterfalls Police Station.
A court date was set for today.
According to Matrix Private Detectives, the phone number used to contact Mai Jeremaya reportedly displayed a profile picture of a wealthy South African man and a car with the license plate “Sam 1.” Matrix shared on Facebook.
Following the arrests, images surfaced allegedly showing Thabo Dube posing with numerous women, drawing comparisons to Baltasar Ebang Engonga Avomo, an Equatorial Guinean politician known for alleged numerous encounters with women.
Social media users commented on the potential scale of the alleged crimes.
Tafadzwa Chidawa, a private detective and the founder of Matrix Investigations, confirmed the arrests on Facebook, stating that many more women were now coming forward. “We can confirm that Matrix Private Detectives have arrested Thabo Blessing Dube and Martin Charli for gang raping a female celebrity after pretending to be clients. The two are currently detained at Waterfalls Police,” he said.
Chidawa also revealed that the suspects’ phones contained contact details for over 50 women, and new reports suggest this number may now exceed 100.
“Yesterday we thought it was just a few victims, but more than 100 girls and women have been trapped by these guys,” he added.
Several alleged survivors have reportedly come forward, identifying Dube as the man who allegedly lured them using online platforms like Facebook Marketplace. Posts circulating online describe instances where women were allegedly told the boss isn’t around and then taken advantage of, or given small sums of money before being dismissed.
One post also claimed that Dube was seen wearing a Zanu PF jersey in some encounters.
Mai Jeremaya has urged others to break their silence. Matrix Security has published hotline numbers for potential victims or witnesses to contact.