The former adviser to the ministry of Agro-industry, Mathieu Laclé, is confident that justice will soon be done. After the Director of public prosecutions (DPP) decided there were grounds for Mathieu Laclé to be charged, the latter resigned from office. He however remains confident that Jacqueline Dursoniah?s version - she accused him of raping her in April - will not hold water in court. The plaintiff is for her part happy to see that the ?truth has triumphed over lies?.

In a statement to the police on 24th April, Jacqueline Dursoniah alleged she had been raped by Mathieu Laclé at her house in Pailles on 13th April. She gave many details about the way he undressed in front of her and forced her to have sex with him. The former adviser quickly denied all the allegations; though he concedes he had sex with her on that day at her home, he made it clear that she was a willing partner in the relationship.

?In a fighting mood?

Faced with these contradictory versions, the police decided they would not charge him. But Jacqueline Dursoniah?s lawyers, Ashley Hurhangee and Dick Ng Sui Wa, have asked for a private prosecution against Mathieu Laclé in the intermediate court. This is where the DPP decided to provisionally charge him with rape last week.

After the police said they would not object to bail, Mathieu Laclé was released after paying a Rs 8,000 bail and signing a Rs 30,000 debt acknowledgement. As he left the court room, he claimed he is ?in a fighting mood . I am innocent and I know justice will be done. I will get my job back?? But his accuser seems to be in the same mood: ?This is a proof that everything I said to the police was true. Mathieu Laclé can say whatever he wants but I have already won. If he maintains there was consent, then he will have to prove it in court.?

Meanwhile, this case has shaken Mathieu Laclé?s whole life. Jacqueline, his wife, can?t understand how he could deceive her in this way. ?It is already hard for a woman to accept, understand and forgive, but, in this case, the whole country knows what has happened to me,? she commented. Though she repeats that her husband was wrong in being unfaithful to her and that she has been hurt, she is nevertheless adamant that he could not commit rape. For her, he is only guilty of the pain he has caused his family.