Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A NYANGA man is alleging that his lawfully wedded wife and their two children were “snatched from” him by a spiritual husband.
The man, Matthew Bote, who appeared before Chief Mutasa’s community court last Saturday, told the court that his wife’s father, Thomas Samhembere, had confessed offering his daughter, Epiphania, as appeasement in a spiritual marriage before he married her in 2010.
Bote said his troubles began shortly after their wedding, when he started experiencing strange dreams.
He added that his wife also started exhibiting a strange behaviour.
“I married Thomas Samhembere’s daughter, Epiphania, but they never told me the truth — that she had already been married spiritually. In 2010, we had our first child, a baby boy and that is when all hell broke loose. My wife started acting like a man, dominating me and ceased respecting me as her husband,” he said, further claiming that he began dreaming of a man confronting him and claiming ownership of his wife.
“In my dreams, the man told me that I had ‘married his wife’ and he would have killed me, but instead he would force Thomas Samhembere to confess. Days later, the old man summoned me to his homestead, and said he had a secret to reveal.
“He admitted that his daughter was ‘spiritually married’, and told me that all the children we had belonged to that spiritual husband, not me,” said Bote.
Bote said he refused to move in with his in-laws, as he had instructed, and later confronted the family with his father, who confirmed the confession.
Bote alleged that the spiritual man had told him in his dreams that he had to ‘send his wife and children back to Samhembere homestead’ and that he would do it himself if he refused.
Bote claimed he refused to comply, and a few weeks later, his wife and children left for Samhembere’s homestead, where they ended up staying permanently. Now estranged from his wife, Bote was against paying maintenance that Epiphania is receiving via the civil courts for their two children.
“I was shocked when she sued me for maintenance. I am being forced to maintain children that her father himself said belong to a spiritual husband. How can I provide for children who are said not to be mine?” Bote told the court.
However, the woman’s family painted a completely different picture of the marriage.
Thomas’s son, Johanne, dismissed Bote’s claims as fabrications meant to evade his legal responsibilities.
“All I know is that after Bote married my sister, he started abusing her.
He wanted to marry another wife, and when she opposed it, he dumped her at our homestead with their children. He started saying he dreamt of a man claiming my sister was his wife. This is not the first court he has brought this matter to — it is actually the third — after taking it to both Chiefs Mutasa and Hata’s courts,” said Johanne.
Epiphania also denied ever being told that she was ‘spiritually married’.
“I was never told that I have a spiritual husband. Bote used the weird dreams as an excuse to abandon me. He kept saying that his dreams were instructions from a spiritual man telling him to take me back to my father’s home. I think he was just tired of the marriage,” she said.
Chief Mutasa, in his ruling, said the matter required further evidence and investigation before a final judgment could be made.
“The woman was right to claim maintenance for the children’s upkeep through the proper court channels. Unless Bote goes for DNA tests to confirm that the children are not his, he remains responsible for their upkeep,” said Chief Mutasa.
He also cautioned Bote against basing life-changing decisions on dreams.
“If it is proven that you are the biological father, you must continue paying maintenance. But if you truly believe that these children belong to a spiritual husband, you will need more than dreams to prove it. We will summon the woman’s father and get to the bottom of the matter. However, you must understand that sometimes dreams are just dreams — nothing more,” said Chief Mutasa.
While the matter remains unresolved, Chief Mutasa emphasised that maintenance obligations stand until DNA or other tangible evidence proves otherwise.
“This court cannot base its decisions on dreams or hearsay. Until there is physical proof, such as DNA test results or any other verifiable evidence, that the children in question are not yours, the law and tradition both recognise you as their father. Maintenance is a responsibility that follows evidence, not speculation. If you are truly convinced otherwise, you must bring proof before this court. But as it stands, you must continue supporting the children because their welfare cannot be compromised while adults argue over spiritual claims,” said Chief Mutasa.
The matter was adjourned to allow both families time to gather evidence.
