A guest lodge employee finds herself in trouble with the law after booking rooms for six uniformed students, facilitating their engagement in sexual activities, H-Metro has reported.
The incident, which took place at Royal Guest Lodge, has raised serious concerns about child protection and the responsibility of businesses in preventing such occurrences.
Christabel Muchemwa, 36, booked three male students from Pathway College into separate rooms with their girlfriends, who are students at Excell College. Each room was charged US$20.
The situation took a more serious turn when police, acting on a tip-off, raided the lodge and discovered that one of the female students, a 17-year-old, had already engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse with her boyfriend.
National police spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, confirmed the arrest and outlined the charges against Muchemwa and one of the male students.
“Police arrested a woman reported to have booked six students at a lodge in Chitungwiza,” he stated.
Muchemwa is being charged under Section 86 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23.
“One of the male students is facing charges of having sexual intercourse with the minor,” Commissioner Nyathi added.
He also confirmed that investigations are ongoing and that the female students have been referred to the hospital for medical examinations.
“Investigations are in progress and the female students have since been referred to hospital for medical examinations,” he said.
H-Metro visited the lodge and confirmed that the female students were in uniform, while the male students wore school trousers and carried their school tracksuits in their satchels. It was also established that the students had travelled to the lodge by taxi.
An employee at the lodge revealed to H-Metro that the taxi driver who dropped off the students is believed to have tipped off the police about the situation.
“The students were dropped by a taxi driver and we want to believe that he is the one who tipped police,” the employee stated.
She also provided information about the lodge’s room rates: “Our rooms are charged US$20 during the day and the same amount during the night while the best rooms are charged US$30 during the day and the same amount during the night.”
The employee then showed the news crew the rooms that had been booked by the students. This incident highlights the vulnerability of young people and the potential risks they face, particularly when adults fail to uphold their duty of care.
