adminTanaka Mrewa Court Reporter
A MAN from Bulawayo has been ordered to pay maintenance for his 20-year-old daughter despite his protest that she was now an adult who should not continue receiving support.
James Nyirenda went to court seeking an order exempting him from paying for the upkeep of his daughter claiming that she was above 18 years.
The 20-year-old did not appear in court, but her mother Magdalene Sibanda, opposed the application.
She said Nyirenda, her ex-husband, had not paid for her daughter’s school fees and her Ordinary Level results had been withheld as a result.
“I’m surprised that he wants to dismiss the maintenance. My daughter has not collected her O-Level results because she’s in arrears at school. It makes no sense that he comes here and demands a dismissal when he hasn’t been paying the money in the first place,” said Sibanda.
Nyirenda said he had been contributing towards the upkeep of his daughter.
“I’ve been assisting in the upkeep of my children. However, whenever they come to visit me they complain that their mother beats them all the time and they don’t want to stay with her anymore,” said Nyirenda.
Sibanda denied the allegations and told magistrate Manasa Musiiwa that Nyirenda was an alcoholic.
She said every time her children visit their father they complain that he was violent and is always fighting with his wife.
Musiiwa dismissed the application saying Nyirenda should continue paying maintenance until the child is self-supportive.
Online Reporter