ͳͺͳͲͲͲƒ‹–‡ƒ…‡ˆ”‘„—•‹‡••ƒ ITEM PER MONTH PER TERM PER YEAR
MBABANE - A wife to a well-known businessman is demanding a sum of E181 000 annual mainte- nance from her husband.
The businessman trades in jew- elry. He claims that he sometimes advises the King.
If the wife becomes successful in her application, it will mean that the businessman will have to part with E14 890 per month to cover for the maintenance of his children, who live with their mother in a rented flat.
Motivating her application, *Sindi informed the court that she was married to *Mandla through Eswatini Law and Custom.
She claimed that during the course of their marriage, Mandla subjected her to physical and emotional abuse. She told the court that her husband would sometimes bring women into their matrimonial homestead, resulting in the disintegration and breakdown of the marriage.
Homestead THE TABLE BELOW SHOW THE BREAKDOWN OF THE MONEY REQUIRED FROM THE BUSINESSMAN:
School fees Transport
Lunch box Medical expenses
Clothing
Food and groceries Entertainment Toiletry Accommodation
Sindi submitted that Mandla went to an extent of informing her to leave their matrimonial homestead because he had fallen out of love with her.
She stated that as a result of the physical and emotional abuse she was allegedly subjected to by her husband, she decided to leave the matrimonial homestead and rented a flat, where she was currently staying with her children.
Sindi told the court that Mandla last maintained their children in February 2022.
She claimed that her husband paid school fees only for one month of the academic year, resulting in all three children dropping out of school.
She submitted that in the year 2022, having vacated her matrimonial homestead, she visited her sister in South Africa (SA) to search for job opportunities since her husband had abandoned her and her children, who were not schooling anymore.
During that period, Sindi submitted that her sister assisted her with rentals and groceries.
“I am unemployed but I survive through odd jobs here and there. The children have since returned
E1 200
E200
500
E1 340/E4 000 per season E2 000
E400
E200
E4 800
E14 890
E4 250
E51 000 E16 800 E2 400 E6 000
E16 000
E24 000 E4 800 E2 400 E57 600 E181 000
to school this year. Using some savings from my unstable income and through additional help from my sister, I only managed to pay a deposit of E2 000 for each child for the first term,” she submitted.
She said the school expected the balance of E3 000 for each child owing for the first term. She stated that the children had to pay for the second term before they enrolled.
She told the court that she was convinced that her husband had a steady income he obtained through trading in coins and minerals, which he did at their matrimonial home. Sindi stated that her husband had been able to maintain her and the children without any problem until the marriage broke down. In response to the application, the businessman said he was not objecting to anything from the application pertaining to the maintenance. However, he put it to the attention of the court that he was sickly and unemployed. He stated that he earned his living through trading in some jewelry. He stated that he sometimes advised the King without expanding further.
Mandla denied having abused his wife and chucking her out of their matrimonial homestead. He stated that his wife left their matrimonial homestead after he hired a female to assist him with some work. The businessman stated that he had no energy to fight anyone. The court ordered him to furnish it with his bank statement before it issued a ruling in the matter.
*Not their real names to protect minors involved