In-laws dragged to court over lobola demands

16 Aug, 2019 - 00:08 0 Views
In-laws dragged to court over lobola demands Washington Chibahera

The ManicaPost

Fadzai Matima Weekender Correspondent
AN elderly man and his brother have been dragged to Mutare Civil Courts by their son-in-law, who accuses them of persistently demanding lobola and forcing him to consult traditional leaders to find a cure for his wife’s alleged sickness.

Washington Chibahera applied for a protection order against his father-in-laws Fadzai and Calisto Matima.

Magistrate Ms Nyasha Kuture presided over the matter.

However, the Matimas opposed the application vehemently arguing that the issuance of protection order will weaken their authority on their daughter while giving Chibahera power to deny them the outstanding lobola.

“If this order is granted, how then will I be able to ask for my daughter’s lobola and all the lobola tokens that my son-in-law still owes me. Since he is barring me from visiting him, I have every reason to believe that he does not want to pay me what he owes me,” Fadzai begged the court.

Fadzai Matima

Chibahera had begged the court to stop his father-in-law from forcing him to visit traditional healers, insulting and assaulting him.

He told the court that he was living in fear of the Matimas because they visit him almost on a daily basis, coercing him to visit traditional healers, an act which he said was against his beliefs.

“Your Worship, I no longer live peacefully with my family. Day in day out, my father-in-laws visit and force me to go with them to traditional healers. I am a Christian, and I can only go to church for help, but they do not understand that. All they want is for me to pay up the lobola and escort them to traditional healers,” he said.

The Matimas did not deny forcing their son-in-law to consult traditional healers.

They said they would stop at nothing to get him to traditional healers because he had their daughter’s life in his hands.

They accused him of being responsible for their daughter’s sickness.

“I believe in the African traditional religion together with my daughter, and since she fell sick, we have been trying to take her to traditional healers, but he has been refusing to go with us.

‘‘We have been told that he is the one causing her sicknesses. We need him to be there so that his wife gets the help she needs,” said the elder Matima.

Chibahera told the court that he would not mind if they took their daughter to the traditional healers alone without him since she had been born in their religion.

“There are proper channels that you can use to ask for the lobola, but you cannot force someone to go to a traditional healer. You cannot force him even if he is your son-in-law.

‘‘But since you said your daughter also believes in the African traditional healers, then you just have to go there with just her and spare your son-in-law,” advised Ms Kuture.

She granted the protection order to Chibahera against the Chitimas. The order will be valid for five years.

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