Maintenance summons reveal child’s existence

16 Sep, 2022 - 00:09 0 Views
Maintenance summons reveal child’s existence The man is threatening to wipe out his entire family before committing suicide

The ManicaPost

 

Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter

A MUTARE man got to know about the existence of his child through maintenance summons.

This emerged when Joy Pusa applied for $210 000 maintenance for the upkeep of her two-year-old child with Tinashe Mututsa.

It emerged in court that after realising that she had been impregnated by her married lover Mututsa, Pusa packed her bags and left for South Africa without informing the former of the pregnancy.

She only resurfaced years later to demand maintenance for the child’s upkeep.

The duo appeared before Mutare magistrate, Ms Ivy Musavengana who granted Pusa $30 000 for the child’s upkeep.

Mututsa had opposed the maintenance application, arguing that it was Pusa’s ploy to destroy his marriage.

“My first marriage collapsed because of infidelity. I was cheating on my wife with two women, one of them being Pusa. My wife discovered the affairs and the marriage collapsed. But before I could choose between Pusa and the other woman, Pusa disappeared.

“I ended up marrying the other woman and now that I am living happily with my family, Pusa wants to throw spanners in the works. I did not know that she disappeared while carrying my baby. Had she told me that she was pregnant, I would have understood, but she did not.

“I only got to know of my child’s existence after she came back and applied for maintenance. It is not fair that I was deprived to be with my child during his formative years,” he said.

He offered to pay $25 000 in maintenance and produced a payslip that stated that he gets $170 000 every month.

“She cannot come here and complain that I have been a negligent father when I did not know that I was a father in the first place. Now that I know, I will support my child,” he said.

In justifying the $210 000 maintenance application she had made, Pusa said Mututsa had never provided anything for the child since birth.

She said she wanted to use $25 000 for clothing every month, arguing that her child is used to high quality clothing from South Africa.

She said $100 000 would be used for food for the two-year-old child, while another $25 000 would cater for his medication.

“He operates a garage and has a lot of money, so his child should not lack in anything. Before I left for South Africa, I knew him as a man of means. That is why he could afford to cheat on his wife with two different women. I am sure by now his business is flourishing,” she said.

Pusa highlighted that she had come back to Zimbabwe as she could not continue providing for the child alone.

“It is his obligation to look after his child despite our differences. I know I erred, but the $25 000 he is offering is not enough to cater for his child’s needs. It is only enough for the child’s clothes,” she said.

Mututsa confirmed that at one time he operated a garage.

He, however said he has since closed shop and is now surviving on his earnings as a civil servant.

Ms Musavengana ordered him to fork out $30 000 in monthly maintenance towards the upkeep of his minor child until he becomes self sufficient or reaches 18.

 

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