Breaking News: High Court Sets Aside Mai TT’s Conviction, Finds Her Innocent
The High Court has ruled in favour of Mai TT, overturning her previous conviction. The court has quashed and set aside her conviction, finding her not guilty of the charges brought against her.
This decision marks a significant victory for Mai TT after facing several legal battles throughout her career.
One of the notable court cases involving Mai TT took place in 2020. She filed a complaint against her colleague, Kristle Smasher, at the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
Mai TT alleged that Kristle incited her personal assistants, Morepower Masimba Gombe and Patricia Jeke, to suffocate her while she was hospitalized. However, the details and outcome of this case were not mentioned in the current report.
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In another legal dispute, the High Court ordered Mai TT to pay $500,000 in defamation damages to Memory Muyaka, a local home decor expert. Mai TT had made derogatory remarks about Muyaka on social media, calling her a prostitute, witch, and cultist. The court found these statements defamatory and mandated compensation for the damage caused.
Furthermore, Mai TT faced a lawsuit filed by her estranged husband, Tinashe Maphosa, based in the United States. Maphosa accused Mai TT of defamation and claimed $250,000 in damages. Mai TT allegedly made disparaging remarks about her estranged husband, labeling him as a serial liar, abuser, rapist, and criminal who misused her name to borrow money.
In June 2022, Mai TT was convicted for the theft of trust property and received a prison sentence. Harare Magistrate Mrs. Munashe Chibanda delivered the sentencing, ordering Mai TT to serve an effective nine-month term. The court suspended six months of the sentence on the condition that she refrain from committing a similar offense within the next five years. Consequently, Mai TT was required to spend six months in custody.
Additionally, Mai TT faced consequences for failing to complete a previous community service sentence. She had been sentenced to 105 hours of community service six years ago, following a 2015 conviction. As a result of her noncompliance, she received an additional three-month prison term. In total, Mai TT was sentenced to serve nine months in custody.
The conviction in the fraud case stemmed from a series of events involving multiple transactions. Mai TT had borrowed US$10,000 from a loan shark, using various items as collateral. Initially, she provided a rented Mercedes Benz as security to the lender, Ms. Rachel Mhuka. However, Mai TT later admitted that the vehicle did not belong to her and replaced it with an Audi Q5.
Subsequently, Mai TT offered an invalid passport as additional collateral, replacing the Audi Q5. When Mhuka discovered that the passport was invalid, she confronted Mai TT, who promptly returned the second vehicle.
However, in January of the following year, the police seized the car based on a report from Else Event Car Hire. The company alleged that the vehicle had been stolen, leading to the theft of trust property charges against Mai TT and subsequent legal proceedings.
It is worth noting that Mai TT mentioned her US visa being cancelled in a separate statement, but no further details were provided regarding this matter.