Three decades of deception?: Elderly man questions 35-year-old daughtera��s paternity

Gibson Mhaka . .
GETTING married because of pregnancy isna��t always a good idea.

For this, ask a woman from Entumbane suburb in Bulawayo who is locked in a gruelling domestic row with her elderly husband over the paternity of their 35-year-old mentally challenged daughter.

Washington Chirikuutsi is disputing the paternity of the daughter on the grounds that he married her mother Emily Chirikuutsi after she eloped to him pregnant.

Superstitiously, he is also suspecting that the alleged paternity a�?frauda�? was the one which caused the daughtera��s mental problem.

This emerged at the Bulawayo Civil Court where Emily was suing her husband for harassing her.

She said Washington was also denigrating her by labelling her a prostitute in front of their children and relatives.

a�?I am legally married to Washington and our marriage still subsists. My husband is always harassing me while accusing me of being promiscuous. We have a 35-year-old daughter who is mentally challenged and he is saying he is not the biological father and that actually caused her problem.

a�?He is also saying a lot of bad things about me in front my children and relatives and I want the court to protect me from his abusive behaviour,a�? said Emily.

Bizarrely, she also begged the court to stop her husband from watching pornography in the house before challenging him to go for DNA tests to see if he was not the biological father of a�?theira�? daughter.

Opposing his wifea��s application, Washington insisted that he was not the father. He said his wifeA�A�A� deceived him for three decades to look after another mana��s seed.

a�?Sometime last year we had problems and she went to the police who later summoned us for deliberations. The police advised us to go for DNA tests after I indicated to them that I was not the father of her daughter who is mentally unstable and that might be the cause of her condition.

a�?Our problems didna��t start in 2008 as she has alleged but way back when we got married. This is because she eloped to me when she was pregnant and that leaves me with suspicions that I am the one who got her pregnant,a�? he said.

Presiding magistrate Sheunesu Matova referred the couple for counselling.