Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A MARRIAGE in Chikanga has crumbled in spectacular fashion after a husband allegedly caught his wife in the arms of a commuter omnibus driver — a scandal that spilled from the home into the traditional court of Chief Mutasa.
The bitter domestic dispute came to light when Onias Chakabuda dragged his wife, Hazvineyi Zunga, before the court, accusing her of shattering their marital vows.
In a startling admission, Zunga confessed to the affair, but defended her actions, claiming desperation drove her to seek comfort elsewhere after her husband failed to provide for the family.
Chakabuda recounted that the first cracks in their union appeared last year. Returning home late one evening, he discovered one of their children abandoned and unattended — a moment that ignited suspicion and deepened mistrust between the couple.
From then on, the marriage spiralled into resentment, culminating in the explosive confrontation that now grips the community.
Confronted with the accusation, Hazvineyi Zunga did not deny the affair. Instead, she laid the blame squarely on economic hardship, arguing that her husband, Onias Chakabuda, had failed to provide for the household, leaving her vulnerable and dependent on outside support.
“It all started in February. I would return from work to find my child alone. When I asked where the mother was, the child would say she had gone out, leaving him with her phone to play games. This was usually around 7 or 8pm,” said Chakabuda.
His suspicions deepened when Zunga, in a strange twist, warned him about what he might discover in her mobile phone. The warning gnawed at him, planting seeds of mistrust.
One evening, returning home around 9pm, Chakabuda again found his child alone and hungry.
Determined to provide at least a meal, he went to nearby shops to buy food. But along the way, fate delivered a devastating blow: he stumbled upon his wife in a compromising situation with commuter omnibus driver Joshua Mukanya.
The shocking discovery shattered whatever fragile trust remained, dragging the couple’s private turmoil into the public eye and leaving the community abuzz with the scandal.
“One day she came home and warned me to be careful about what I might find in her phone. That alone made me suspicious,” Onias Chakabuda told the traditional court.
His fears were soon confirmed. On the road, he spotted a commuter omnibus parked nearby.
In the driver’s seat sat Joshua Mukanya. Beside him, in the middle seat, was Chakabuda’s wife, Hazvineyi Zunga, while her friend, Tino occupied the left passenger seat.
“I saw my wife hugging Mukanya. I immediately took out my phone and recorded a video. At first they didn’t notice me, but when they did, Tino suggested they should walk over to where I was standing,” Chakabuda recounted.
When confronted, Mukanya denied wrongdoing, insisting he was merely escorting the women home. But Chakabuda said he had watched them being “cosy” for nearly 20 minutes and could not accept the explanation.
The betrayal cut deeper when Zunga allegedly defended Mukanya instead of apologising.
“She was smelling of alcohol and appeared drunk. I didn’t even know she had started drinking. She shouted at me, telling me to leave Mukanya alone. When we got home, she immediately called him and said it was only a small matter. That shocked me deeply,” said Chakabuda.
Later, he discovered romantic messages between the two, prompting him to inform his wife’s relatives.
The revelations forced him to leave the matrimonial home temporarily, though he continued visiting to check on his child.
On another occasion, Onias Chakabuda said he arrived home only to find Mukanya parked directly outside his gate, deep in conversation with his wife.
“When I greeted them and went inside, she followed me and claimed Mukanya was her uncle,” said Chakabuda, alleging that the driver frequently transported his wife home and that her behaviour afterwards raised troubling suspicions.
The accusations did not end there.
Chakabuda also accused his wife of being involved with another man, known only as Baba Tari.
“One day I saw her rush straight into our children’s bedroom to clean herself. It looked very suspicious. When I asked where she was coming from, she claimed she had visited her sister. Later, I found messages and photographs they had exchanged. Reading those love messages depressed me so much — it ate me up inside,” he said.
His suspicions deepened further when his wife requested to be placed on Depo-Provera contraceptive injections, a move he interpreted as evidence of her infidelity.
Mukanya, however, admitted before the traditional court that he had indeed been in love with Zunga, but insisted he initially did not know she was married. “When Chakabuda first confronted me, there was confusion because Hazvineyi was with her friend, Tino. He told me to leave his wife, but he did not specify which one,” Mukanya explained, revealing that he himself was divorced.
He conceded to the affair, but claimed he ended it once he discovered Zunga’s marital status. He also insisted that during their encounters, they had used protection.
For her part, Hazvineyi Zunga openly admitted to cheating on her husband, but placed the blame on what she described as neglect within the marriage. She claimed that commuter omnibus driver, Joshua Mukanya had stepped in to provide groceries and other necessities for her and the children.
“It is all true, but my husband was negligent. He would come home with sex workers’ underwear and I would not even question him. He did not look after us properly and would simply come home to eat food without caring where I had obtained it from. Mukanya helped us. He bought groceries for the family. I had also not told him that I was married because he believed I was a single mother,” said Zunga.
Chief Mutasa strongly condemned both Zunga and Mukanya’s conduct, warning them of the dangers of their actions.
“You want to kill this man with diseases from your shenanigans. You two should be ashamed of yourselves. What you did was very bad,” he declared.
In his ruling, Chief Mutasa ordered Mukanya to compensate Onias Chakabuda with five cattle before the end of July for engaging in an adulterous relationship with a married woman.
Zunga was also ordered to give her former husband three cattle.
The chief further advised Chakabuda to undergo medical testing following the affairs, underscoring the seriousness of the betrayal and its potential consequences.
