By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –

A GERMAN national has pleaded not guilty for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl at a Lusaka orphanage where he is one of the directors.

Ronnie Jender, 37, a director at Care for Kids Orphanage in Makeni has since pleaded not guilty to indecent assault on the teenager and others at the orphanage.

Jender is alleged to have on December 23, 2014 in Lusaka unlawfully and indecently assaulted a named girl at the orphanage.

When the matter came up before Principal Magistrate Kenneth Mulife, Jender informed the court that he understood the charge as read out to him by the court but he was not guilty.

Jender who has been in detention since his arrest later applied to be released on bail but the State objected because he would interfere with the witness (girl) as she was leaving at the same orphanage.

The State said that if released on bail there was also a possibility of him absconding court sessions since he was a foreigner.

But Jender said he will stay with his wife and family at home and not at the orphanage, adding that although he was one of the directors, there was another director who would continue running the orphanage in his absence.

Jender said he was even ready to surrender his passport which he said was being kept by his wife who is Zambian.

Mr Mulife in his ruling said that although there was no law which banned foreigners from accessing bail, he found compelling the ground given by the State that Jender would interfere with the witness especially that he was one of the directors.

He said he would consider Jender’s application for bail after the girl testifies in the matter.

Jender remained in detention but Mr Mulife ordered the State to ensure that the girl is brought to court on Monday to testify so that he could consider Jender’s application for bail.