Wife bashes cop hubby

Caroline Chaparadza
AFTER several failed attempts to end his wife’s violent behaviour, a Gwanda-based police officer, Robson Chimbwanda, last week approached Mutare Civil Court seeking a protection order against his wife.

The court heard that Fiona Karumbidza of Mutare was in the habit of destroying the couple’s property whenever they argue.

Chimbwanda claimed that his wife physically abused him from the time they got married. He said Karumbidza also threatened to unleash her boyfriend on him if ever he divorces her.

“The last time we had an argument, she destroyed our television set, broke my cell phone and my vehicle’s windscreen. She also assaulted me with an empty bottle. This has not only happened once, but on several occasions. As if that was not enough, she threatened that if I divorce her, she will send her boyfriend to assault me and I now fear for my life. I have since discovered that she now has new boyfriends and I even called the other boyfriend who claimed that my wife was the one nagging him and she was paying all his rentals. He later claimed that my wife was just a lady of loose morals and had nothing to do with her,” complained Chimbwanda.

In his affidavit, he claimed that Karumbidza was also in the habit of visiting his workplace in Gwanda causing mayhem and wanted her barred from visiting his workplace.

Disputing the allegations, an emotionally charged Karumbidza claimed that she acted in that way as self-defence. She brought to the court’s attention that her husband had abandoned his family and was not contributing anything for the children’s upkeep.

“Your Worship, these are false claims. The truth is that since we got married, my husband handcuffed and assaulted me with a baton stick. We have been married for 13 years. I only attacked him with bottles twice in self defence. One of the bottles hit the television set. Since last year he has not been coming home and I have been struggling to pay rentals. I do not have boyfriends as he claims. What happened is that when he came home last week, he saw a man (Mashonganyika) in the house. Mashonganyika had come to collect money from my brother. He thought he was my boyfriend and started assaulting him to the extent of pulling his private parts. Mashonganyika lodged a complaint with the police,” argued Karumbidza.

She also claimed that her husband was dating another woman and was paying school fees for her, while the family was starving. “Other police officers in Gwanda tried to assist us the last time we had a fight over my phone. They suggested that the whole family should relocate to Gwanda, but my husband refused,” she said

Mrs Annie Ndiraya, however, granted the application to both parties and ordered them to co-exist and also try to seek marriage counselling.