Church elder wrecks chief’s son’s marriage

18 Nov, 2022 - 00:11 0 Views
Church elder wrecks chief’s son’s marriage (From left) Acting Chief Saurombe, Makufa, Mudada and Kenneth Saunyama

The ManicaPost

 

Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter

A CHURCH elder with the Seventh Day Adventist was fined two beasts for having an extramarital affair with Acting Chief Saurombe’s daughter-in-law who was left in his custody by his son who is employed in Harare.

The church elder, Kenneth Saunyama is alleged to have had an extramarital relationship with Answer Saurombe’s wife, Nancy Saurombe under the nose of Acting Chief Saurombe in Chimanimani.

The matter appeared before Acting Chief Mutambara last week on Saturday where Saunyama was ordered to pay the two beasts to Acting Chief Saurombe as compensation for wrecking his son’s marriage.

Acting Chief Saurombe dragged Saunyama and two church elders who were only identified as Makufa and Mudada to Chief Mutambara’s court where he accused the church of supporting promiscuity in the community.

“It seems the church is in support of Saunyama’s promiscuity because he is an elder, but I will not let them silence me. He cannot destroy my son’s marriage because he is a church elder. Why was he visiting my daughter-in-law in the absence of her husband late at night?

 

“The pastors and elders who were present when we dealt with the matter should give me satisfactory answers because they were witnesses to their fellow elder’s adultery shenanigans. I will not let a church destroy my son’s marriage,” charged the angry traditional leader.

He said the church leadership had approached him to have an out of court settlement after Saunyama had agreed to pay two beasts for having an illicit affair with a married woman, but reneged on his undertaking.

“My son stays in Harare and I was left in charge of his homestead. When I caught this man messing with my son’s wife, the church begged me to have an out of court settlement as we are all church-mates. I agreed and tried to settle everything with Saunyama amicably.

‘‘However, Saunyama who admitted to committing adultery before fellow church elders and pastors later shifted goalposts and claimed that he is a friend to both Nancy and my son,” said Acting Chief Saurombe.

Nancy has since been sent packing from the Saurombe family.

Acting Chief Saurombe said word that the two were having an affair despite them being close friends shocked him, resulting in him setting up a trap.

He said he saw Saunyama leaving his son’s place around 10pm.

“Even if he insists that he was not having an affair with Nancy and that he was only visiting her, he has to pay me for defiling my homestead. I am the head of the Saurombe family and I do not accept male visitors visiting my daughter-in-law that late. By doing so, he wronged my family and should pay me two beasts or the equivalent, otherwise he will see my wrath,” said the Acting Chief.

In response, Saunyama denied having an affair with Nancy, stating that he was a family friend and had visited as he always did.

He argued that for justice to prevail, Nancy and Answer Saurombe should have been summoned to Acting Chief Mutambara’s court as well.

“I only agreed to pay the said beasts because I had been cornered and threatened. The chief (Acting Chief Saurombe) and his team had threatened to detain me. I only signed the affidavits under duress. The truth is that I am just a family friend. I regularly visits Answer’s wife in his absence and he does not mind. This is not a secret,” said Saunyama.

Acting Chief Mutambara ordered Saunyama to pay the two beasts that he promised the Saurombe family by January 2023.

 

Share This:

Sponsored Links

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds