Liberty Dube
Weekender Correspondent
A MUTARE woman has to pay US$3 000 as damages to her lover’s wife after cohabiting with a married man.
The lovebirds have since been blessed with three children, although one of them is now late.
Earlier this year, Ngaatendwe Matanda approached the Mutare Civil Courts seeking US$6 000 as compensation from Auxilia Muriro, her husband’s lover.
Matanda is legally married to Washington Matanda.
She revealed that she has gone through a torrid time at the hands of her husband’s mistress, Muriro.
In her ruling, Mutare magistrate, Ms Purity Gumbo said:
“The plaintiff is married to Washington Matanda in terms of the Marriage Act (Chapter 5:11). The marriage is supposed to be monogamous.
“It is not in dispute that intimacy took place between the defendant and the plaintiff’s husband, of which three children were born from that union, one who is now late.
“Judgment is hereby entered for the plaintiff in the sum of US$3 000 to be paid in local currency at the official prevailing bank rate at the time of payment.”
Ngaatendwe said she once approached Muriro and advised her to stay away from her husband, all to no avail.
“Sometime in 2010, I noticed my husband’s unusual movements but thought the phase would pass. His colleagues then informed me that he was dating Muriro. Initially I dismissed the tip-off as mere gossip.
“However in 2014, the situation got worse and rocked my marriage as my husband started spending some nights away from home without giving me satisfactory explanations.
“I intensified my investigations to establish the cause of his change in behaviour. In 2015 I finally confirmed that my husband was having an affair with Muriro. My efforts to end this adulterous affair have failed,” said Ngaatendwe.