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Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Correspondent
AN environmental health technician stationed in Chipinge stands accused of tricking his wife into divorcing him and unwillingly surrendering their children to him.
Appearing before acting Chief Saunyama recently, Margaret Kawamba of Hobhouse in Mutare also claimed that her ex-husband, Amos Nyakuchena, abandoned her because she is uneducated.
She claimed that after divorcing her, Nyakuchena married an educated woman whom he shows off at any chance given.
“We struggled together when the chips were down. When he obtained a tertiary qualification, he secured a job as an environmental health technician in Chipinge.
“He quickly turned his back on me because I could no longer fit into his class. He started making erratic visits to his family in Nyanga as he was now enjoying his new life in Chipinge,” said Kawamba.
She said Nyakuchena tricked her into transferring their children from a Nyanga school to one in Chipinge, with the promise that she would join them later.
“I thought we were still together, but he had already married another woman in Chipinge. When he made one of his rare home visits, he asked me to transfer our children to a Chipinge school. He said we were all moving to Chipinge after the schools’ holiday. When he later came back, his mission was to give me a divorce token,” she said.
She also claimed that Nyakuchena tricked her into leaving the marriage empty handed.
She said the couple had five cattle, eight goats and some poultry.
“I am good at farming and while we were still together we grew a lot of potatoes which he later harvested and sold alone after he had kicked me out. I did not get a single cent from the potatoes and I am now asking for a share of the proceeds,” said the woman.
Kawamba also asked the court to grant her custody of the children.
However, in his defence, Nyakuchena insisted that he had not divorced Kawamba because of her intellectual capacity.
“I left this woman because of her promiscuity. This happened while I was away at school and at work. I heard rumours of her taking in lovers during my absence. I also caught her red-handed on several occasions.
“Her claims that I abandoned her because of her class is a lie. I used to love her as my wife and wanted us to raise our children together, but she betrayed my trust by dating other men,” said Nyakuchena.
He told the court that he took the children into his custody after realising that his separation with their mother was affecting them emotionally.
“In Nyanga, the children were walking long distances to school. In Chipinge they are enrolled at a nearby school. They are safer with me and I should be allowed to take care of them,” he said.
Acting Chief Saunyama referred the matter to Nyanga Civil Court citing jurisdiction.
He also ordered the couple to share the property they acquired together.
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