My husband is addicted to sex

A Harare woman was forced to seek court protection following persistent beatings by her husband, whom she accuses of demanding too much sex.

Mercy Chakwenya told civil court magistrate Lazini Ncube last week that her husband, Kudzanai Chakwenya, was in the habit of assaulting and insulting her when she refuses to sleep with him.

"I do not know if it is a problem of satisfaction or addiction, but sometimes he does it all night and I cannot even sleep," she said.

"If I tell him to stop, he starts assaulting and insulting me."

Mercy said her husband often accuses her of sleeping around whenever she refuses to sleep with him.

"When I refuse to sleep with him, he shouts at me, saying that I am a prostitute. He also says that I am sleeping with other men," she said.

Mercy said her husband was an alcoholic and his excessive consumption of alcohol might be the cause of his dissatisfaction in bed.

"Sometimes I think it is the alcohol causing his excessive demands for sex. He is always drunk and I always tell him to stop [drinking]. Sometimes he even drinks when we are in bed," she said.

Kudzanai, however, denied assaulting and insulting his wife, saying that his wife often denied him his conjugal rights.
"The biggest issue we have is sex. She does not want to sleep with me, her own husband," he said.

Kudzanai said his wife was also violent and told the court she once assaulted him.

"I once spent a week away from home and when I came back I tried to engage her in bed but she grabbed my private parts and punched me in the mouth," he said.

Ncube ordered Kudzanai to live in peace with his wife and suggested that the couple reach a settlement, which suits them both.