The ManicaPost
Tanyaradzwa Mujati
Weekender Reporter
A CHAKOHWA woman who spends most of her time quenching her thirst with the wise waters while her children are unattended has vowed never to quit the habit as she claims that beer is the basis of her relationship with her hubby.
This emerged at the Mutare Magistrates Civil Court where Patricia Mudimu was applying for a protection order against her husband, Nathel Zingana, whom she accuses of solving marital disputes with fists.
Mudimu said her husband also accuses her of having extra-marital affairs.
“He does not know how to solve misunderstandings. He is always heavy-handed. Police officers at Chakohwa Police Station now know me because I am a regular visitor there as I file abuse cases against him.
“I am tired of being his punching bag. He accuses me of infidelity just because I spend some of my days at the beer hall enjoying with my friends,” said Mudimu.
She said her husband also vents his anger on the children.
“He labels me a woman of loose morals in the presence of our children. He sometimes beats up the children to show his rage,” she said.
In response, Zingana said his wife was being economic with the truth.
He said Mudimu wanted to use the protection order to stop him from questioning her over her beer binges.
“She is lying. She is hardly at home. When I return home from work at 8pm, the children will be alone most of the times. There will be no food for the kids to eat. I have to prepare the food while she enjoys herself at the bar.
Patricia Mudimu
“I am now being ridiculed in the community for marrying a loose woman. Whenever we have a misunderstanding, she rushes to the police to file a report against me. I love my wife, but she should stop drinking beer and stay at home like a good wife,” said Zingana.
He also said at one time he saw his wife fighting with a sex worker at the bar after the latter had called her a prostitute.
“I had to stop her from fighting the sex worker. They were drinking together and the sex worker told her that she was lying that she was married. She accused my wife of looking for clients in the bar, just like her. Imagine a woman you paid lobola for being involved in bar brawls over men? It is very embarrassing,” he said.
Zingana also said he once called his wife at 10pm while she was at the bar, but she ignored his calls and later switched off her phone.
“On one occasion, I get home at 8pm and cooked for the kids. I later gathered that Mudimu was enjoying herself at Chakohwa Business Centre and I drove there, only to see her drinking with her friends.
“As l was hunting her down, I called her and she checked her phone, frowned and ignored the call. After a while, I called her again and she switched off the phone. I ended up leaving her there as I was avoiding a confrontation.
“She left home lying that I had assaulted her. I begged her to come back home for the sake of the kids, but she said she will not come back before she gets a protection order against me. She wants to use the protection order to stop me from asking about her whereabouts,” said Zingana.
He also blamed Mudimu’s friends for her wayward behaviour.
However, Mudimu said Zingana does not want her to be at the bar as he has a girlfriend there.
“He knows I love beer a lot and I would trade nothing for it. For him to say that I should quit beer is just unacceptable because beer is the basis of our relationship. We used to drink together and he is my mentor.
“Now that he is realising that I am now a grandmaster of this game, he wants me to quit. He has a girlfriend at the bar and that is why he wants me not to set foot there.
“I am drinking heavily these days due to stress. If I do not drown my sorrows in beer, I will end up killing myself. I caught my husband red-handed at a lodge with my best friend. The woman I share my problems with is the one who backstabbed me, so I will not quit beer. He should accept me the way I am,” said Mudimu.
Mutare magistrate, Mr Xavier Chipato granted the protection order in Mudimu’s favour.
