Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A HAUNA man lost his wife just three weeks after their white wedding, a marriage he claims he financed by selling his car to meet her family’s demands for a formal union.
Brian Farai Mupeti said his wife, Tariro Mutawasha, abruptly left for South Africa in 2019, and only returned last year carrying a breastfeeding child.
Appearing before the traditional court, Mupeti said he had gone to great lengths to formalise the marriage after his in-laws refused to allow their daughter to stay with him until the union had been legally solemnised, despite him having already paid the bride price.
“I paid the bride price for their daughter, but I was told that she would not be released to me until we formalised the marriage. I ended up selling my car to raise money for the wedding, which we eventually had,” he said.
Mupeti said the marriage barely got off the ground.
“I only lived with her for about three weeks before she left for South Africa with her father, Luke Mutawasha, without my knowledge. That was in 2019,” he said.
For years, he claimed, he was left without answers regarding his wife’s whereabouts or the future of their marriage.
“Last year, she returned with a baby. We never had a child together, so I want to understand what happened and where that leaves me as her husband,” he said.
Mupeti said tensions escalated earlier this year when his in-laws accused him of harassing them.
“In January, they took me to court, claiming I was harassing them. All I wanted were answers about where my wife had been and what had happened to our marriage,” he said.
He further alleged that his father-in-law had arranged for Tariro to be married to another man in Shamva during her absence.
However, Luke Mutawasha strongly disputed his son-in-law’s claims, and painted a very different picture of the troubled marriage.
He accused Mupeti of repeatedly assaulting and mistreating his daughter throughout their relationship.
“When he came to marry our daughter, he only brought two chickens and 400 Rands. We accepted it because we believed there was genuine love between them,” said Mutawasha.
He said the couple’s relationship was marked by repeated disputes, separations and reconciliation attempts.
“They would stay together, quarrel and my daughter would run back home. We would counsel them, they would reconcile, but before long the same problems would return. The cycle continued because of domestic violence,” he said.
Mutawasha claimed the situation worsened after Mupeti accused Tariro of having an affair with her employer.
“He accused her of cheating with her boss, assaulted her in the man’s presence, demanded the return of his wedding ring and locked her inside the house. She eventually escaped through a window and fled,” he alleged.
Mutawasha said his daughter then sought refuge with her sister in Masvingo.
“She went to stay with her sister in Masvingo. I informed my son-in-law about her whereabouts and assured him that she would return once things had calmed down because she was tired of being assaulted,” he said.
He added that attempts to resolve the dispute were further complicated when Mupeti allegedly insulted members of the family.
“He shouted at my wife and used vulgar language. I later called him for further counselling, but my daughter refused to return. She said he first had to appease her mother,” he said.
Mutawasha denied allegations that his daughter had been remarried.
“My daughter has not remarried. She simply has a child. She was taken advantage of and ended up having a baby,” he said.
He also maintained that the traditional marriage had never been formally dissolved.
“While she was still in Masvingo, he sent her clothes through public transport and we collected them, but he never sent any divorce token to formally end the marriage,” said Mutawasha.
The father-in-law further accused Mupeti of making offensive and damaging allegations against him.
“He called me stupid and even accused me of having an inappropriate relationship with my own daughter. Because of the insults and harassment, I reported the matter to the magistrates’ court,” he said.
Despite the accusations and years of separation, Mupeti maintained that he remains determined to establish the legal status of the marriage.
He told the court that he intended to pursue the matter through the High Court together with his estranged wife in an effort to bring finality to the long-running dispute.
Chief Mutasa ruled that his court did not have jurisdiction to deal with divorce proceedings.
However, he directed that Tariro be summoned to appear before the court and give her own account of the events at the centre of the dispute.
