admin
Prosper Dembedza Court Reporter
A Harare man last week stunned the court when he offered to pay $10 for the upkeep of his four children. Samson Bulawayo said he did not have money after he was banned from his business of selling sadza by the Harare City Council. Bulawayo was seeking a downward variation of his maintenance order from $220 to $10. “Things are hard for me at the moment because I have nowhere to get money. I used to sell sadza at Kuwadzana shops before I was banned by the city council,” he said.
Bulawayo claimed that his wife, Ndiudzei Chapedza, dumped him because he was failing to put food on the table for the family.
“My wife looted all our matrimonial property and took the children to her new place of residence because I was unable to fend for the family,” he said.
Bulawayo told Harare Civil Court magistrate Ms Babra Masinire that his relatives were ready to take care of his four children on his behalf.
“If she is failing to take care of the children, she is free to give them to my relatives because they are ready to take them and pay their school fees,” said Bulawayo.
Chapedza opposed Bulawayo’s application and accused him of lying that he had nowhere to get money.
“He is a professional painter and we had been surviving on that for the past 15 years. The $10 he is offering is not enough for the four children and I will not accept that,” she said.
Chapedza claimed that Bulawayo was the one who abandoned the family in unclear circumstances.
Ms Masinire deferred the matter to (today) Monday for ruling.
Online Reporter