AFFAIR DISPUTE ENDS UP BEFORE CHIEF MAKONI

By SBT | Courts and Society

A funeral assurance company employee reportedly lost his job following a relationship dispute involving a married woman, which ended up before Chief Makoni's traditional court in Manicaland.

Frank Tika brought Takudzwa Masamba before the traditional court, accusing him of having an affair with his wife, Patience, and contributing to the breakdown of their 10-year marriage.

Tika, who was demanding three beasts from Masamba, told the court that the two men first encountered each other at Rusape General Hospital, where Patience was training as a mortician. He said he had paid US$2,500 in bride price and helped secure his wife's training opportunity at the hospital.

According to Tika, the relationship between Patience and Masamba began during her training, with the alleged affair later exposed through photographs exchanged on Patience's cellphone. “I am in pain because of what Patience did to me. She is my wife of 10 years, and we have a child together. I paid a bride price of US$2,500. I secured her a place at the hospital to train as a mortician,” he told the court.

Tika said Patience's parents subsequently called him to their home and persuaded him to accept a divorce token, arguing that his allegations of adultery could put their daughter at risk. He further claimed that when Masamba learnt that he had discovered the relationship, he contacted him and denied knowing that Patience was married. Tika, however, alleged that Masamba later lost his job following the dispute.

Masamba admitted having a relationship with Patience but denied knowingly dating a married woman, saying she had presented herself as single. “I did not date a married woman. I met Patience when we visited Rusape General Hospital to collect bodies of clients and she was a mortician student. I asked her about her status, and she said she was single,” he said.

Masamba added that he had disclosed his own marital status to Patience and maintained that Tika had no proof that he knowingly engaged in an adulterous relationship. He also told the court that the dispute had cost him his job and that he feared for his safety, alleging that Tika had made threats against him. Patience, meanwhile, disputed Tika's claim that they were still married, saying she had handed him divorce tokens on two occasions but he refused to accept the separation.

She accused Tika of physical and emotional abuse, threats and harassment during their relationship. Patience further alleged that Tika had taken her undergarments and bedroom towel to a traditional healer and had threatened to harm her following their separation. “Tika is lying that I am his wife. He was an abusive husband who used to beat me up,” she told the court. She said she had handed over the divorce token in the presence of family representatives and Tika's go-between, adding that police had advised her to pursue a formal divorce.

After hearing the parties, Chief Makoni absolved Masamba of adultery, reportedly finding that Patience had misled him about her marital status. The traditional leader advised Tika to approach Patience's father over the possible recovery of part of the bride price, saying her conduct was unacceptable.

The matter exposed the competing accounts surrounding the relationship, with Tika alleging betrayal, Masamba denying knowingly pursuing a married woman, and Patience describing an abusive marriage from which she said she had separated.

Chief Makoni adultery case