Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company board chairperson, Ms Ruth Ncube, is embroiled in a nasty legal fight with her unemployed husban...
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company board
chairperson, Ms Ruth Ncube, is embroiled in a nasty legal fight with her unemployed
husband who is now demanding $3 800 monthly spousal maintenance.
The Chronicle reports that Mr Wilson Sezi (53), said his monthly budget is $13 033 and
seeks an order directing Ms Ncube to contribute $3 800 monthly towards his
upkeep.
But Ms Ncube has opposed the application.“Applicant was
introduced to me sometime in January 2016 by a friend. Since I am a widow, I
warmed up to the idea of having male companionship. I then met his sister and
the applicant subsequently met my brother in May 2016,” she said.
Ms Ncube said Mr Sezi was asked to pay $800 to confer upon
himself the status of being a customary law husband.
She said the applicant only paid $700 and undertook to
settle the balance at a later date. Ms Ncube argued that culturally, Mr Sezi
was not her customary husband because he did not finish paying lobola.
“In the absence of payment of the required amount in full,
in our culture, there is no relationship of husband and wife that can be
established. I have no legal obligation to maintain the applicant as I am not a
spouse,” she said.
Ms Ncube said she parted ways with Mr Sezi after
discovering that he was engaging in extramarital affairs. She said she has been
battling to get Mr Sezi out of her life to an extent that she suffered severe
trauma.
“Each time I told the applicant that I did not want him in
my life, he would threaten to kill himself,” said Ms Ncube.
“Applicant’s monthly budget according to him is $13 033,
which is what he consumes per month. Of this amount he wants me to contribute
$3 800, which effectively means that he earns $9 233 per month from his own
means. In terms of the law, a relief in the form of an order for maintenance is
not a gateway ticket to luxurious means, but a relief to secure the basics of
survival.”
Ms Ncube said she only regarded Mr Sezi as her former
boyfriend. The matter will be heard on May 16 before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Sheunesu
Matova
COMMENTS