Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Weekender Reporter
A WOMAN from Makoni was sent back to her parents for guidance on proper marital conduct after allegedly denying her husband, who suffers from mental health challenges, his conjugal rights.
Despite still being traditionally married, the woman went on to have a child with another man. This prompted her husband’s family to drag her before Chief Makoni’s community court.
During the hearing, Trust Mundenga, represented by his brother Andrew, accused his wife, Dorcas, of neglecting her marital duties once he developed mental health problems.
Andrew told the court that Dorcas had been sent back to her family to receive marriage counselling, but the family later discovered she was pregnant.
“To our shock, Dorcas gave birth while still married to my brother. When we confronted her relatives, they claimed she had only gained weight. She later delivered a baby, and we reported the matter to Headman Chiendambuya. Dorcas had promised to reveal the father of the child at the hearing, but failed to attend, leading the headman to escalate the case to this court,” explained Andrew.
He further alleged that Dorcas might have conceived the child with her employer, insisting that she was performing “wife duties” at his home.
Trust briefly addressed the court, stating that Dorcas had denied him conjugal rights and often slept away from him, which forced him to involve his relatives.
Dorcas, who has seven children with Trust, countered the accusations, claiming that it was her husband who had been denying her intimacy due to his mental condition.
Dorcas told the court that her husband’s three aunties and two uncles came to escort her back to her family, accusing her of refusing intimacy with Trust.
She explained that she had already informed them it was her husband who had denied her conjugal rights after developing mental health challenges.
“His aunties knew the truth. My husband argued that we were too old for intimacy since we already had a grandchild. At that time, I hadn’t realised he was mentally affected. He was later taken to Harare for treatment, and when his condition improved, we resumed intimacy. I even fell pregnant, but sadly suffered a miscarriage,” she said.
Dorcas added that when Trust’s condition worsened again, his relatives sent her back to her parents, claiming she needed proper marriage advice and even accusing her of being ‘a wife of an avenging spirit.’
Her parents accepted her back, but after a year she was found with a baby, sparking the court case.
“They ordered me to take all my belongings, even the maize from the field. I argued that if I took everything, what would the father of my children eat? But they insisted he was well catered for,” Dorcas explained.
She revealed that the child’s father was a man known only as Sabawo from Mozambique, who disappeared after she fell pregnant.
She strongly denied claims that her employer was the father, saying she only worked for him.
“I am no longer part of their family. An aunt gave me a US$1 divorce token in front of my husband. The father of the child is Sabawo, not my employer. How can I be accused of denying my husband conjugal rights when we have seven children together and two miscarriages? It was my husband who started sleeping in the kitchen hut, leaving me without intimacy for a year. When they chased me away, I actually felt relieved, but now they are harassing me and monitoring my life. I am struggling to fend for the children alone,” Dorcas said tearfully.
The court, however, ruled that Dorcas and Trust’s marriage was still valid, noting that no formal divorce had taken place.
It dismissed her claim of receiving a divorce token.
The court ordered that both Sabawo and the alleged employer be summoned for DNA tests.
Whoever is proven to be the father will be required to compensate Trust for adultery.
“The union remains valid as no divorce process was initiated. The suspected father must be summoned, and DNA tests will be conducted. If Dorcas insists Sabawo is the father, she must bring him to court for testing,” the ruling stated.
