By Michael Mashiri
A local woman has dragged to court a man whom she claimed was her ‘husband’ for abusing her and locking her outside her matrimonial home.
Talent Makumba took to the Harare Civil Court Edison Mahachi whom she accused of abusing her in various ways.
Mukumba said she was still married to Mahachi, but had left the house because her husband had locked her out.
“We are married your honour, but he locked me out of the house and l am now staying at my mother’s place,” she said.
“He harasses me and chase me away,” she added.
Mukumba said there was a time she came to the house and the kids were not around and she asked about them and until now he has not told her of their whereabouts.
She also said Mahachi was not buying food for the children in the house and the responsibility was left to her to bear alone.
“When l came to the house he had taken away the kids, l asked him and he did not tell me where the kids were and up to know l do not know where they are.
“Your honour he does not buy food for the children and it is me that always carry the burden by myself,” she said.
She also told the magistrate that she did not lodge an application to the maintenance court because she thought he was going to chance and become a responsible father to his children.
However, Edison Mahachi refuted statements by Mukumba that he was still married to her as she had left the house three weeks ago.
“We are no longer together, she is my ex-wife,” said Mahachi.
He said Mukumba came with her uncles wanting to assault his mother.
“She wanted to physically attack my mother with her uncles,” he said.
He also stated that her uncles had told him not go to her father, to traditional healers or to any apostolic sect with issues regarding his ‘former’ wife.
“Her uncles told me that, ‘you are not her father, you should not do anything,’ they told me not to go to her father and tell him the problems l was having with her, mapostori (apostolic sects), nánga (traditional healers) with issues pertaining to her,” he added.
Edison Mahachi told the court that he wanted to divorce his wife culturally (gupuro) since he was no longer interested in the ‘former’ wife.
Magistrate Noah Gwatidzo who presided over the case told Mahachi that it was wrong for him to chase his wife outside their matrimonial home without a court order.
He then ordered him to reinstate her back into the house and then start all the cultural arrangements.
He also ordered Mahachi not to physically, verbally abuse the applicant and not to deny her custody of the children.