The ManicaPost
Tanyaradzwa Mujati
Weekender Reporter
A MAKONI elderly woman stands accused of having an affair with a 25-year-old man whom she is now cohabiting with after kicking out her husband.
Gogo Marvellous Mujuru recently appeared before Mutare magistrate, Mr Xavier Chipato, as she was applying for US$150 maintenance from Sekuru Chris Madondo.
She said she has two minor children with Sekuru Madondo, but he has not been maintaining them.
“We have two children together. He has other children with his first two wives, but all of them are above 18 years. He does not send my children to school or give them money for food.
“I have been struggling to look after the children alone, even when we were cohabiting.
“Since we are no longer staying together, I want him to help me as I am failing to provide for the kids alone,” said Gogo Mujuru.
She said is not employed and survives on her late first husband’s pension and hand-outs from her older children.
“My first husband is late and I have been using his pension to cater for Madondo’s children. However, I have realised that it is not proper to continue using that money since their father is still alive.
“Madondo has a farm with a lot of livestock. He is into dairy and tobacco farming. He also has kids who are abroad, so he should chip in as well. I did not have these children alone,” quipped Gogo Mujuru.
However, Sekuru Madondo said he is no longer capable of working as he is diabetic and has a poor eyesight.
“I can’t afford the money that she is demanding. I can only give her groceries when my children send me something. I am no longer productive on my farm due to my ill-health. The doctor told me to stop working in the fields.
“When I get something, I will give her. If they are groceries, so be it. However, I can’t give an exact figure to say this is the money I can give her every month as I rely on money that comes from my children who also have their own families.
“However, she is lying that I have not been supporting my children. I pay for their fees which is US$30 per term and I give her groceries when I get them,” said Sekuru Madondo.
He added that she kicked him out of their matrimonial home to cohabit with a man old enough to be her son.
“She applied for a protection order against me the last time we came here so that she could live peacefully with her new lover. She is staying with this young man. She is applying for maintenance just to fix me. She knows very well that I am unemployed and not physically fit to work.
“I took her and her lover to Chief Makoni’s court and the community court dismissed the matter, saying that I did not have incriminating evidence to prove that she is having an affair with this man.
“Soon after the community court ruling, she advised her boyfriend to demand compensation from me for defaming them, but I won’t pay anything,” charged Sekuru Madondo.
He also said he is being barred from seeing his children.
“She has turned my kids against me. I tried to give them some milk recently and the kids refused to accept it, saying their mother told them not to accept anything from me. She told them that I will kill them as I am a wizard,” added Sekuru Madondo.
However, Gogo Mujuru disputed Sekuru Madondo’s claims.
“He does not even know how much is required for the kids’ school fees. The eldest pays US$50, while the youngest pays US$40. He does not give us food.
“Recently he received groceries from his Malawi-based son. He only gave me a litre of a soft drink, a quarter bar of soap, a cup of salt, three boxes of matches, three cups of sugar and half cabbage.
“His son called me to check if I had received anything and I told him what I had received and he was so disappointed. He told me we were supposed to share the groceries equally. Madondo is just greedy,” she said.
Gogo Mujuru also denied having an affair with a younger man.
“I am not having an affair. The man he claims I am cohabiting with was our employee. We employed him when he was 16 years old. Madondo cooked up the story and we were summoned by Chief Makoni’s court over the alleged affair. The story was cooked up and that is why it was dismissed,” said Gogo Mujuru.
Mr Chipato ruled that Sekuru Madondo should pay US$40 for the upkeep of his two minor children.
