Online Reporter
Spiwe Sarakunze-Zimpapers Reporter
WHAT began as a romantic gesture ended in the stark reality of a civil courtroom, where a signed affidavit became a binding acknowledgement of debt.
Hillary Makoni stood before the magistrate, not with a broken heart, but with a broken financial agreement. She demanded US$450 from her ex-boyfriend, Mention Manyonga, money she said he borrowed during the course of their relationship.
Her key evidence? An affidavit of debt he signed.
“A debt is a debt,” she insisted, unmoved. “Signing an affidavit means you must pay.”
“He forced me to get a loan for him. I asked him about my money, and he refused to pay back,” she said.
She told the court that she no longer had feelings for him and wanted a clean separation, both emotionally and financially.
“The relationship is over. I no longer love him, and I want my money back,” she told the court.
According to Makoni, she relied on an affidavit of debt that Manyonga signed during their time together, an affidavit she said proves beyond doubt that he acknowledged owing her the amount.
But the case took an unexpected emotional twist as Manyonga gave his side of the story, painting a picture of a man who felt cornered by love.
He said the affidavit was not signed under financial obligation but out of affection, trust, and an attempt to maintain harmony in the relationship.
He said that he never imagined the document would later be weaponised against him.
“I accepted to sign that affidavit out of love. I never expected to be fixed by someone I once loved,” he told the court.
He explained that during their relationship, they often assisted each other with money in the same way most couples do, and he believed the support they exchanged was based on mutual trust, not formalised agreements.
In the end, the law sided with the paper trail. The magistrate cut through the emotional pleas, reminding both that the court deals in legal obligations.
Manyonga was ordered to pay back the full amount, a financial reminder of a relationship that ended in court.
