Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku
A FORMER car sales owner who had been dodging the long arm of the law was finally brought to court for defaulting on a maintenance order, after his small house exposed his lavish lifestyle and alleged romantic exploits.
Kennedy Rundofa, once known for wheeling and dealing cars around Bulawayo, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Abednico Ndebele after he was nabbed and summoned to court for failing to pay maintenance for his two children with Rejoice Ndlovu, his former lover.
The drama began in January when Rejoice dragged him to court demanding that he be held accountable for neglecting his children. After a full trial, Rundofa was ordered to fork out US$450 for each child, monthly.
But instead of paying, Rundofa disappeared from the radar. When finally dragged back to court, he cried poverty, saying life had taken a nasty turn and claimed he was no longer the baller he used to be.
“I am down and out. I was evicted from the car sale premises I was renting and now I am failing to pay rates for my house in Ilanda,” he told the court.
Rejoice riposted with heartfelt words, claiming Rundofa lived lavishly while his children suffered.
“Your Worship, this man is lying through his teeth. He is financially stable. He has four cars including two Toyota Prados, a Chevrolet and a Honda Fit. He owns a car sale and also sells cars on behalf of clients. For every car he sells, he gets a commission of US$1 500. He owns a big house in Ilanda suburb with a swimming pool. So, how can he stand there and say he is broke?” she fumed.
She further claimed that Rundofa used to own two kombis, and that she was supposed to be given one to boost her vending business.
“He even has eight girlfriends and he is sponsoring two of them through school,” she told the stunned court.
The courtroom tensed up as Rundofa fumbled to defend himself.
“She is lying,” he insisted. “Let her produce evidence of these supposed girlfriends. And I do not own those vehicles anymore. I swapped the Honda Fit for a kombi and the other kombi never belonged to me.”
But when asked to produce proof of this mysterious kombi swap and non-ownership, Rundofa failed.
The court questioned why, if he was truly broke, he had not applied for a variation of the maintenance order through the proper channels. Instead, he opted to try his luck at the Bulawayo High Court, where his appeal was dismissed and struck off the roll.
Rejoice added more fuel to the fire, claiming that Rundofa was simply hiding his assets to avoid losing them in an ongoing divorce with his wife.
“He is trying to hide behind this poor man act, but the truth is he is just scared that if the court sees what he really owns, his wife will take him to the cleaners,” she charged.
Rundofa claimed he was surviving off renting out a cottage for US$130, but this failed to move the court.
In his ruling, Magistrate Ndebele was blunt.
“There is no enjoyment without taking responsibility,” he declared.
Ndebele ruled that Rundofa had the means to take care of his children and had simply chosen not to.
As punishment, he sentenced him to six months imprisonment wholly suspended, on condition that he completes 210 hours of community service at ZRP Hillside.
Additionally, Rundofa was ordered to pay all outstanding maintenance arrears by September 30. Failure to do so will see him locked up for two months behind bars.
