Online Reporter
Sekai Manyere
Herald Reporter
A Harare man has been ordered to pay US$60 per month in child maintenance and 50 percent of his child’s school fees.
Mr Kudzai Magaya was ordered by the Harare Civil Court to make the payments after his former partner, Ms Happyness Mpofu, approached the court seeking US$1 200 in monthly maintenance for their seven-year-old child.
Mpofu told the court that she works as a taxi driver and earns about US$150 per month. She said Magaya owns a trucking company, but she was unaware of his current income.
She said she needed financial support to meet the child’s school fees and other basic needs.
Mpofu also told the court that Magaya had failed to keep up with his commitment to pay the child’s school fees and had accumulated arrears of US$820.
“He promised to pay school fees, but I was shocked to receive an invoice from the school stating that the child owes US$820,” she said.
Mpofu argued that he was not financially stable and provided a letter from his other child’s school for a payment plan.
“I also owe money to my other child’s school. I have not been financially stable recently,” he said.
Magaya argued that he is a truck driver who earns US$450 per month. He refused to pay US$160 for fees and offered to pay US$80.
He said he has three other children who are also minors and Mpofu acknowledged that she knows them.
“I can afford US$80 for the fees because l am also taking care of my family,” he said.
After considering the circumstances, the court ordered Magaya to pay US$60 per month towards the child’s maintenance and 50 percent of the school fees starting from the end of this month.
