Online Reporter
Spiwe Sarakunze
Herald Reporter
A Harare woman has sued her husband seeking a protection order over allegations of abandonment, emotional torture, property disputes and threats of eviction from their matrimonial home.
Ms Talent Guvi told the court that she and Mr Sydney Musekiwa had been living as husband and wife happily for several years but the tranquillity in the home was shattered when she fell pregnant.
She said Mr Musekiwa abandoned her soon after she fell pregnant, leaving her to deal with the physical, financial, and emotional challenges alone.
Ms Guvi said that she was surprised when her husband showed up after the birth of their child and he has been giving her hell.
“Now that he is back, I do not have peace, he punches me in front of people,” said Ms Guvi.
She claimed that Mr Musekiwa is now demanding control over their home and all household property.
According to Ms Guvi, her husband is now planning to evict her from their matrimonial home so that he can bring in another woman.
She described the threats as relentless and emotionally damaging adding that she has been living in fear that Mr Musekiwa will throw her and the baby onto the streets.
Ms Guvi said she has nowhere else to go, no stable income and extended family support system strong enough to cushion her if she is evicted.
She told the court that she felt like she was being punished for simply choosing to keep and raise their child.
“Now that the child is here, he wants to come back and take everything, claiming the house is his and I must leave so another woman can come in,” she said.
“He dumped me when I was pregnant, and I went through everything alone.”
Ms Guvi said the situation escalated into emotional and verbal abuse, leaving her stressed, humiliated and living in constant fear.
She prayed for the court to protect her from being thrown out of what she believed to be her matrimonial home.
Mr Musekiwa insisted the house in question belonged to him and he has every right to decide who lives in it.
He argued he was not trying to chase his wife away but was simply exercising his right as a man and the head of the household to marry another woman if he wished.
Mr Musekiwa further told the court that Ms Guvi had once driven out his children from his late wife out of the house, claiming that she mistreated them and made their lives unbearable.
He submitted that it was his wife who created problems within the family, leading him to make decisions to protect his children.
Ms Guvi strongly disputed the claims saying the accusations were merely an attempt to destroy her credibility and justify evicting her.
She maintained that she never mistreated the children, but instead tried to build a blended family under difficult circumstances.
The court granted Ms Guvi protection from eviction and abuse and warned Mr Musekiwa against abusing his wife in any way. It also advised the couple to seek marriage counselling.
