Church administrator suing man having an adulterous affair with his wife

A Glad Tidings Church administrator is suing a Harare man for $9 800 for allegedly having an adulterous affair with his wife.

Clive Shamu appeared before Harare Civil Court magistrate Mr Trevor Nyatsanza who deferred the matter to July 3. He is accused of entering into an adulterous affair with Blessing Shumbamhini's wife, Eddah, in the full knowledge that she was married.

The court heard that Blessing and Eddah entered into a customary law union and subsequently contracted a civil union in terms of the Marriage Act Chapter (5:11) on April 16, 2005.

The marriage still subsists pending finalisation of divorce proceedings before the High Court.

Blessing told the court that sometime in 2008 he noticed his wife had become discordant, distant and generally unaffectionate towards him, contrary to the blissful early days of their marriage which were characterised by compassion, warmth, love and deep affec- tion.

Subsequent inquiries revealed that his wife was having an affair with her Air Zimbabwe workmate, Shamu.

He made several pleas to Shamu to terminate "this abhorrent affair, but he maintained the same from 2008 up to 2012 when Blessing interrogated his wife and she confessed", the court heard.

It is alleged that Eddah duly acknowledged the existence of the adulterous affair with Shamu and further indicated that it had started as a friendship, but had blossomed into an extra-marital affair before "further progressing to the engagement of sexual intercourse over a period of five years at various rendezvous, including lodges and motels".

"I have borne the full wrath of an emotional and psychological turbulent period to the extent that I have become disillusioned with life and constantly depressed at the thought of Shamu having sexual intercourse with my wife," Blessing told the court.

"Worse still, there is the attendant risk and exposure of rampant sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and Aids."

Blessing then claimed $9 800 as damages against Shamu, broken down as follows: $5 000 as compensation for contumelia and $4 800 as loss of consortium (loss of comfort, companionship services of the spouse).