BULAWAYO - An executive director with a local modelling agency, Ricky Nathanson who was recently arrested on accusations of being gay, has fled his home following unspecified threats.
His lawyer Tanaka Muganyi of Dube, Banda and Nzarayapenga legal practitioners, revealed this during a cross examination in court yesterday.
Nathanson was appearing before Bulawayo magistrate Abednico Ndebele facing charges of criminal nuisance as defined in Section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9: 23.
The 48-year-old director of Ricochet Modelling Agency denies the charge.
He is a well-known gay activist in the city, renowned for wearing female dresses and make-up and is reported to have openly admitted to being gay.
Lawyer Muganyi told the court his client had been threatened by the complainants to such an extent that he was forced to seek alternative accommodation, fearing for his life.
The complainant in the case is Farai Mteliso, 27, a well-known Zanu PF Youth League member who did not turn up for the court appearance yesterday.
“The accused was threatened for no apparent reason by the complainants and nothing has happened to him,” Muganyi told the court.
“As a result, he has sought alternative accommodation.
“The complainant, should stop doing that or else we will seek help from relevant authorities as no one is above the law.”
However, Nicholas Gachacha, who stood on behalf of the complainant, dismissed the allegations as unfounded and just grandstanding on the part of the accused.
In Nathanson’s defence, Muganyi added that the charge his client was facing was inappropriate as under Section 46 of the criminal law it does not constitute an offence.
He further told the court that if the section was not amended he will be left with no option but to apply for a refusal of further remand.
The State also admitted there were loopholes in the section of the law and the matter was postponed to February 4 while the accused is out of custody.
Allegations against the accused are that on January 16 at around 5pm at Palace Hotel situated at corner 10th Avenue and Jason Moyo Street in the city, the complainant Farai Mteliso, 27 was drinking beer with friends, when he observed Nathanson getting into a female toilet to relieve himself, the court was told.
It is alleged that Mteliso observed that Nathanson was male through his pair of trousers which he said was transparent to such an extent that one could see his manhood.
Realising that, he effected a citizen arrest on Nathanson and handed him over to the Bulawayo Central Police Station for further management of the case.
As Nathanson stood by his decision of getting into a female toilet, police later referred the matter to Bulawayo United Hospitals (UBH) for medical examination in order to ascertain his actual gender, the court heard.
It was discovered that Nathanson was in fact transgender but biologically male.