Man drags wife to court over death threats

A Bulawayo man is living in fear after his abusive wife issued a deadly warning that there was going to be death in the family.

Tafungwa Chiweshe from New Magwegwe suburb who apparently fears that the death threats were directed at him as the head of the family last Friday approached the Bulawayo Civil Court seeking a restraining order against his wife Mirika Nyoni.

Chiweshe said his wife was also threatening to hire thugs to assault him adding that the threats started when she once deserted their matrimonial home for three weeks to an unknown destination.

"I have been customarily married to Mirika Nyoni since August 2007. She has since gone violent and is in the habit of verbally abusing me in front of the children where she would be shouting at me with obscenities.

"She once left our matrimonial home for three weeks to unknown destinations and when she came back during my absence she destroyed the bedroom door.

"Her behaviour is no longer that of a normal person as she is always threatening that there will be death in the family. I am now living in fear since I don't know who will be the victim and how this will happen," said an almost sobbing Chiweshe.

In response, Nyoni defended her actions saying her husband was the one who provoked her by saying that he wanted to have another wife.

"The violence he is talking about started after he told me he was looking for another woman to marry when our marriage still exists. Another issue is that whenever we are in the bedroom things will be alright but when our maid comes closer to our bedroom he jumps off the bed and I don't  know why he is behaving in such a manner," responded Nyoni.

Presiding magistrate Adelaide Mbeure, however, granted a binding order which compels both parties to keep peace with each other by not verbally and physically abusing each other.

In a bid to apparently save their marriage which is now on the brink of collapse the magistrate also referred the couple for counselling.