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Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
MANY people experience unreciprocated love at some point in their lives, a painful and frustrating feeling that can be hard to overcome.
For Joseph Mutungwazi, a Nyanga man, this feeling is compounded by the fact that his wife, Tinashe Magwaro, is unfaithful to him, just like how the Biblical Gomer was unfaithful to her husband, Hosea.
When the couple appeared before Acting Chief Saunyama’s court last week on Friday, Mutungwazi said he constantly suffers from emotional distress as he tries to cope with his wife’s promiscuity and lack of interest in him.
Despite claiming to have caught her cheating three times before she left him three months ago, Mutungwazi stunned the court when he begged Magwaro to come back to him and let bygones be bygones.
“I do not care that she has been cheating on me. I love my wife more than anything in this world. I want her back because I have already forgiven her,” he said.
Mutungwazi said he has received endless threats from Magwaro’s lovers, but she still has a special place in his heart.
“I caught this woman red-handed with her lovers on three different occasions. One of her lovers scorned me, saying I was just a sperm donor while he was her real man.
“The other lover told me that Tinashe had told him that I was dead. I, however, do not care about all these mistakes that my wife has been making.
“I love her and want her back. Our marriage of 10 years cannot come to an end because of mere mistakes like these,” he said.
Asked on whether she still loves her husband, Magwaro said she has lost affection for him.
“We have two children together, but I would rather raise my children alone. He is a very big liar. He lies at every given chance as you have witnessed today. He is lying that he caught me with different lovers. Why then is none of the lovers here today?” she said.
However, Mutungwazi said he would do everything possible to make his marriage work.
He accused Magwaro’s uncle of condoning her promiscuous behaviour.
This was after Magwaro’s maternal uncle, Shepherd Magwaro, had dragged Mutungwazi to the community court demanding his niece’s outstanding bride price.
Shepherd also asked the court to bar Mutungwazi from pestering his niece to come back to him.
However, the court argued that according to tradition, the bride price is only paid to the paternal family of the woman in question.
Shepherd argued that he does not know his niece’s father and that he is the one who looked after her from birth.
“My sister never told anyone about the biological father of the child until she died. I became her guardian. I feel that as her uncle who was responsible for her up bringing, I am entitled to receive her lobola. If one day her father shows up, then I will pay him back the lobola. For now, Mutungwazi should pay me,” he said.
Shepherd revealed that he is the one who forced Magwaro out of her marriage with Mutungwazi.
“Yes, I took my niece back because he has been staying with her for 10 years without paying lobola. He only paid tsvakirai kuno (a small token). He never came back with more money. If I cannot have her lobola, Mutungwazi should leave my niece. She should be a free woman,” said Shepherd.
Acting Chief Saunyama advised Shepherd to help his niece to look for her father.
“Demanding your niece’s lobola will haunt her spiritually. You never know, maybe her promiscuity and the way she disregards her husband is because her father’s family wants her to be part of the family.
“You should only demand maredzwa (a token of appreciation for being her guardian) from Tinashe herself. You cannot demand lobola, that is unheard of. Please stop creating problems for your niece,” said acting Chief Saunyama.
Acting Chief Saunyama said it is very rare for a man to beg an adulterous woman to reconcile with him.
He adjourned the matter to July 14 to allow for one of the alleged lovers, Jonathan Sami, to be summoned to court.
Online Reporter