Online Reporter
Spiwe Sarakunze, Herald Reporter
A 34-year-old Budiriro man is suing his mother accusing her of forcing him to stay single.
Mr Nelson Zengeni told Harare Civil Court magistrate Ms Johanna Mukwesha, that his mother Ms Tsvakai Mwatse (56) does not want him to get married.
“She told me that I cannot marry, because I have a responsibility to look after her as a widow, and that no woman must come between me and my duty of taking care of her,” he said.
“Every time I try to talk to a woman or bring someone home, she harasses me and makes my life unbearable.”
Mr Zengeni said problems began when her mother noticed that he was in a relationship and became jealous.
Ms Mwatse, a widow for two decades, allegedly insists that her son should dedicate his life to caring for her, going as far as declaring that any woman who comes into his life is a threat to her welfare and stability.
“I love my mother and I will always support her but I cannot be her prisoner. I have a right to love, to build a family and to have peace in my own home,” he said.
Mr Zengeni said that the situation has grown increasingly hostile over the years, claiming that his mother goes through his mobile phone almost daily in search of evidence that he is in a relationship.
When she finds anything suspicious, he said she confronts him with insults and sometimes threatens to frame him so that he will go to jail.
“She monitors my movements to the extent that I no longer have friends since they cannot tolerate her behaviour,” he said.
“I cannot receive a call from a woman without her storming into my room demanding answers. It is humiliating, stressful and I want to live in peace in my late father’s house.”
Mr Zengeni claimed that his mother asked her brother to physically assault him after learning that he had gone on a date.
“She sent her brother to beat me up just because I was seeing a woman who is our neighbour,” he said.
“He ambushed me when I was coming home one evening and accused me of bringing shame to the family.
“He threatened to beat me every time I disobeyed my mother, claiming that I must not hang out with street girls. He said he will help me find a proper wife when the time is right.”
Ms Mwatse denied harassing her son but admitted that she was against him dating.
“He is my only child. I suffered while raising him alone after his father died. I paid his school fees with money from vending and made sure he had everything,” she said.
“Now that I am old, who will take care of me if he marries street girls whom I usually see him with?”
She added that she only told him to find a proper woman who would not disgrace the family but he thought she was being cruel.
She admitted going through his phone but insisted that it was out of concern and a desire to protect him from gold diggers who might use him and leave him with nothing.
“He is too soft-hearted and girls these days are clever and careless. They pretend to love you, and then they take your money. What will happen to me if he falls into the wrong hands?”
Ms Mukwesha ruled that while Ms Mwatse had every right to expect support and respect from her son, she had no legal or moral authority to dictate his private life or to abuse and assault him for making personal choices.
She granted a protection order in favour of Mr Zengeni, barring his mother and her relatives from harassing or assaulting him.
Ms Mwatse was also warned against monitoring her son’s personal communications or interfering with his relationships since he is a grown man.
