Woman, boyfriend team up to beat hubby
A MUTARE woman and her lover assaulted her husband after he caught them having quality time in their matrimonial home.
Mercy Kananga then rushed to apply for a protection order against her husband, George Masvovera, at the Mutare Civil Court.
Mutare magistrate, Ms Purity Gumbo, presided over the matter.
Although she granted the protection order in Kananga’s favour, Ms Gumbo warned her not to use it to cover up for her misdemeanours.
Narrating the events that led to his bashing at the hands of Kananga and her unidentified boyfriend, Masvovera said he left home on the pretext that he was going to Chiadzwa.
He came back home unannounced. Masvovera said he got the shock of his life when he found his wife in the company of another man.
“She thought I had travelled to Chiadzwa as usual, but I don’t know what made me change my plans and l went back home. My wife was in the company of her boyfriend. I knocked on the door but it took them almost an hour to open it.
“When they finally opened the door, my wife teamed up with her lover to beat me up. They attacked me with iron bars and I am lucky to be alive as they wanted me dead.
“A neighbour who heard my screams for help rushed me to the hospital. When I recovered, I made a report to the police. My wife has been away all this time. Together with her boyfriend, they are on the police wanted list for assaulting me,” said Masvovera.
He said he met Kananga in 2016 when she was staying with her two children in a two-roomed house.
He said he has since extended the house to add four more rooms.
“I am a hustler. I travel to South Africa to buy groceries and anything that my customers want. I am also a diamond dealer. From the proceeds of my sweat, I make sure my family is well looked after.
“Out of love, I built Kananga a sixroomed house, which I am now being chased out of,” said Masvovera.
He added: “I started seeing some changes in my wife’s behaviour. She was no longer cooking for me or doing my laundry. Whenever I asked, she said she was busy. It all made sense when I caught her with her boyfriend.”
Masvovera said his wife applied for a protection order as a cover up for the fact that she and her lover almost killed him.
However, Kananga disputed that she is married to Masvovera, adding that they were only cohabiting.
“I am not legally married to him. I have a husband and we have two children together. When I met this man (Masvovera), he was coming from Beitbridge and had nothing. l felt pity for him. He did not have a place to stay and I offered him accommodation at my house. I also gave him money to start cross-border trading.
“We cohabited for two years, but due to his constant assaults and insults, I decided to end our relationship. He is now refusing to vacate my house,” said Kananga.
But Masvovera insisted that Kananga is his wife as he paid a bride token to her family.
He said he is saving money for her full bride price.
“I went to her family’s place and paid a bride token. I was given a list for the lobola and a date to pay her bride price, so legally I am her husband,”said Masvovera.
Kananga later admitted that Masvovera paid US$50 to her family as a bride token.
“The truth is that he is my husband, but he has been misbehaving. He was having multiple affairs with different women. I was the one who gave him capital for his business so I felt betrayed by his unfaithfulness. I then resorted for a tit-for-tat game.
“I decided to cheat on him and my boyfriend would visit me each time my husband left for Chiadzwa. We were never caught until recently when someone tipped him off about the affair. He came back home unannounced and caught my boyfriend and l red-handed,” she said without any remorse.
Masvovera said Kananga had even brought her boyfriend to court in the car he bought her to spite him.
“Despite being on the police wanted list, Kananga drove to this court with her boyfriend. He is seated in the car that I bought her which is parked outside. I should effect a citizen’s arrest on the boyfriend before he escapes,” said Masvovera.