Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Weekender Reporter
A GRIEVING widow has successfully sued her late husband’s elder brother at Chief Mutasa’s community court after accusing him of persistently pursuing an intimate relationship with her while her husband was still alive.
The traditional court ruled in favour of Rosie Chipenzi, ordering Silas Taringa to compensate her with two cattle for conduct deemed inappropriate and disrespectful to his younger brother’s marriage.
Chipenzi said Taringa began making advances towards her about two months before her husband died, despite knowing that she was still legally married to his younger brother.
At the time, Chipenzi was staying and working in South Africa, while both Taringa and her husband were in Zimbabwe.
She alleged that Taringa repeatedly sent her inappropriate messages and tried to persuade her to enter into an intimate relationship with him.
Disturbed by the advances, Chipenzi said she later confronted him and recorded some of their conversations.
“I regarded him as a father-figure in the family, not someone who could be my husband,” she said.
Chipenzi alleged that Taringa sent sexually suggestive messages and made repeated requests that she considered inappropriate.
“He wanted us to have an intimate relationship even before my husband died. He would send me steamy messages and make suggestions that I found offensive, but I repeatedly told him that what he was doing was wrong,” she said.
Chipenzi said the issue reached a climax when she returned home for her husband’s funeral.
“I confronted him and told him to stop because I viewed him as a father-figure within the family. Despite that, he continued insisting that I return home so that we could have a relationship,” she said.
She further claimed that Taringa openly professed his love for her despite her repeated rejections.
“He told me that he loved me. I reminded him that my husband was still alive, and that what he was doing was improper, but he continued,” she said before presenting recordings that she said captured some of the conversations.
However, Taringa denied pursuing his late brother’s wife, insisting that his actions had been misunderstood.
He said his intention was to persuade Chipenzi to return to Zimbabwe and reconcile with her husband.
“She is lying about my intentions. At the time, she was in South Africa while my brother was in Zimbabwe. I was simply trying to help bring them back together as a couple,” he said.
Taringa acknowledged telling Chipenzi that he loved her, but argued that the statement was never meant as a romantic proposal.
“I tell many people that I love them. In this case, I was trying to persuade her to return home and reunite with her husband,” he said.
He also questioned why she later chose him during traditional family proceedings conducted after his brother’s death.
Taringa said Chipenzi selected him during the customary practice of kugara nhaka, in which a deceased man’s relative assumes responsibility for the widow and children.
“She gave me the dish of water, symbolising that I was the brother chosen to take responsibility for her and the children. If she did not want me, why did she choose me?” he asked.
Taringa maintained that his pre-bereavement interactions with Chipenzi had been aimed solely at reuniting her with his late brother.
His wife, Ethel, also appeared before the court, and said she had seen some of the messages exchanged between the two. However, her testimony came under scrutiny, with Chief Mutasa accusing her of failing to give a truthful account.
Delivering judgment, Chief Mutasa strongly condemned Taringa’s conduct, describing it as inappropriate and inconsistent with his standing within the family.
“You are a father-figure in this family, and what you did was wrong. You should have respected your younger brother’s marriage while he was still alive,” said the traditional leader.
“When a relative is ill, his wife remains his wife. You should never take advantage of such a situation. You have your own wife and should have respected both your late brother and his marriage.”
Chief Mutasa said Taringa’s actions had the potential to undermine his late brother’s dignity and sow division within the family. As a result, he ordered Taringa to compensate Chipenzi with two cattle for his conduct.
