Office romance backfires

03 Jul, 2020 - 00:07 0 Views

The ManicaPost

Tendai Gukutikwa

Weekender Correspondent

A MUTARE vendor’s marriage is teetering on the brink of collapse following her alleged ‘‘office’’ romance with other vendors at Chikanga produce market.

Having had enough of Ms Yvonne Serete’s alleged shenanigans, her husband Mr Trevor Mawuya banned her from trading at the market.

However, Mr Mawuya’s decision did not go down well with Ms Serete. She dragged him to Mutare Civil Courts seeking a protection order against him.

Ms Serete also begged the court to intervene so that she could continue vending. However, Mr Mawuya is adamant that their marriage will only survive if Ms Serete stops her small business and concentrates on their family.

“She is very promiscuous and when having fun with her male colleagues, she forgets that she has a husband and children at home. She parades her lovers around and when I ask her about it, she says they are her colleagues.

“Your Worship, I told her that as long as she still wants to be my wife, she has to stop vending. I gave her two options — she can be a responsible ‘‘stay at home’’ wife or a promiscuous unmarried woman. She chose the former. I never barred her from vending. I just gave her those options,” he said.

But Mutare magistrate, Ms Nyasha Kuture ordered Mr Mawuya to observe Ms Serete’s constitutional right to earn a living. “You cannot stop her from going to work, no matter what kind of work she does. She is allowed to buy and sell her wares. If you stop her, she can go to the police and you will be arrested,” she said.

The magistrate also advised Mr Mawuya to seek counselling on the alleged love affairs. In her application, Ms Serete rubbished her husband’s claims of her promiscuity and stated that Mr Mawuya is violent. She said her husband is always harassing and assaulting her over her work. She said he is also in the habit of ejecting her from their matrimonial home whenever they have a misunderstanding.

“Your Worship, I love my husband and I also like my work. His salary is meagre, so I have to work and complement his earnings. I also want to contribute in feeding the family, but he does not want to hear any of it. He would rather see us starving than let me contribute towards the family’s upkeep,” said Ms Serete.

Ms Kuture granted the protection order in Ms Serete’s favour. It bars Mr Mawuya from assaulting or harassing his wife.

He was also ordered not to bar her from vending.

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