(Last Updated on September 2, 2012 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – A HARARE woman allegedly arranged a secret wedding to her husband in a bid to stop him from taking in his girlfriend.
Tendai Matinya of 6708 in Kuwadzana 5 made the revelations at the Harare Civil Courts where he brought his wife Renita Madzokere to seek a protection order against her.
Matinya said he only knew he was at the court for a wedding when they were before a magistrate. “Your Worship, this woman is my wife and we have been customarily married for the past 20 years,” he said.
“We have had many altercations this year and on August 2, I was surprised when she took me to Rotten Row Courts.
“It was in the courts that I found out she had arranged the wedding secretly when she fully knew I had a second wife whom I had a child with.”
Matinya said he was having problems with Madzokere since the day she discovered he had a second wife.
“She always said she wanted to protect the property we bought together over the years,” he said.
“She started beating me up and coming to my workplace where she harasses me in front of my workmates and employer.
“She threatens me with death and shouts at me in the middle of the night whenever she wakes up. “Recently, she spat in my face in front of our children and my other daughter ended up sending me a text message with unspecified threats.”
Magistrate Ms Rekinah Dzikiti asked Madzokere if she had arranged the wedding without her husband’s knowledge.
She said Matinya was the one who paid the court fees for the wedding. “He is trying to run away from the fact he has not been taking care of his family,” said Madzokere. “It was after I monitored his movements and found out he had a girlfriend that he started saying all sorts of things.”
Ms Dzikiti ordered the two to observe peace towards each other.