Zanu PF official in maintenance row

Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial youth secretary for administration Cecilia Verenga has taken her husband, a security guard at the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) to court claiming maintenance for their two children.

Verenga, an employee at the ministry of youth accuses her husband John Khumalo of splashing money on girlfriends yet abandoning their children.

 "This man has been lying to me ever since I don't know. He cannot even buy underwear for his children yet he spends all his cash on girlfriends and beer. He worsens the situation by sending our kids to deliver the presents to his bevy of girlfriends," Verenga told Bulawayo magistrate Victor Mpofu.

"I am working and the money I get is not enough to pay for school fees. I need him to help out for once in his life so the children are taken care of. I need $800 for maintenance."

Khumalo however, offered $40 instead saying he had a lot of responsibilities and that his wife was also working.

"I can only offer $40 Your Honour to this woman. I am paying fees for my children and actually contemplating on sending them to boarding school. I am a student and I need to pay fees as well and can only spare $40 for groceries. As for fees, I will deposit the money in school accounts on my own," Khumalo said.

Verenga would have none of it and fired back saying, "This man is a day dreamer. He has spoken of sending our son to boarding four years and I do not see that happening. He even lies to me about fees payments and our son had to spend two weeks at home after I discovered Khumalo had not been paying his fees as he claimed. I cannot take this anymore Your Honour."

Mpofu, however, ordered Khumalo to pay $85 maintenance monthly starting the end of February.