Moffat Mungazi
Lovemore Kadzura
Weekender Reporter
A WOMAN from Chinyudze in Makoni District allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair with her neighbour sometime last year in a bid to revenge on her husband who was allegedly cheating on her with women from their village.
The marriage of the young couple, Patrick Gore and Talent Zisengwe, is now teetering on the brink of collapse after Gore discovered intimate recorded phone calls between his wife and John Matanhire.
Gore brought the matter before Chief Makoni’s community court, alleging that Matanhire was having an affair with his wife.
He claimed having found incriminating recordings from his wife’s phone, in which the pair expressed their longing for each other.
Gore demanded two beasts from Matanhire as reparation.
“In November last year, my wife’s behaviour became increasingly suspicious. She was overly possessive about her phone, always carrying it with her, even to the fields.
“She would hide it when bathing. When my phone malfunctioned, I was forced to temporarily use her handset.
“On December 5, 2024, while we were returning from the fields, I stumbled upon recorded calls between Matanhire and my wife while attempting to play music on her phone.
“The recorded conversations revealed the two expressing their longing for each other. Furthermore, my wife mentioned acquiring ‘those pills’ in one of the recordings.
“When I confronted my wife about the issue, she initially claimed Matanhire was interested in her younger sister. I disputed this, pointing out that her sister resides in Macheke. I slapped her, and she fled home in tears,” Gore told the court.
Talent admitted to dating John Matanhire, but initially denied any intimate relations, claiming they never found an opportunity to be together.
“Matanhire would often compliment me when I visited my mother’s shop, which is located near his shop. He would say things like ‘you look smart.’ He asked for my phone number, and we started conversing regularly over the phone, exchanging texts and voice messages until my husband discovered our communication,” she said.
However, when questioned by the court about the meaning of ‘I miss you’, and the purpose of the pills, Talent later confessed kissing Matanhire, but maintained that they never had an intimate relationship.
“We only kissed one night, and it was brief, lasting less than five minutes. My husband was supposed to pick me up, but he did not come that evening. Matanhire was experiencing chest pains and was not working on that day. He had gone to the clinic, but did not get the pills he needed, so I helped him find them,” she said.
Talent revealed that she dated Matanhire as an act of revenge against her husband, who she claimed was cheating on her.
“I discovered messages in my husband’s phone, indicating that he was communicating with other women. I wanted to retaliate against his actions, which is why I started dating Matanhire,” Talent told the court.
Matanhire absconded the court hearing, and was subsequently found guilty of engaging in a romantic relationship with a married woman.
The court ordered Matanhire to pay two beasts to Talent’s husband as compensation for adultery.
He was also fined three goats for defaulting the hearing.
In delivering the verdict, the court noted: “Although Talent denies any intimate relationship with Matanhire, her explanations and recorded phone conversations suggest otherwise. While there is no conclusive evidence of penetration, culturally, kissing is considered part of the intimacy process. It is unacceptable to kiss a married woman.
“Matanhire’s absence from the hearing, despite being summoned by the village head and headman, demonstrates his disrespect. His proposal of love to a married woman is equally reprehensible.
“He is ordered to pay two beasts to Gore, three goats for absconding this court, and will also bear the costs of the lawsuit.
“There is an increase of cases of cheating married women, and we must impose deterrent sentences to send the correct message to would-be offenders,” ruled the court.
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