Tracy Mutinhiri accused of snatching someone's husband

FORMER Zanu-PF Women's League political commissar Tracy Mutinhiri is accused of wrecking a Marondera woman's seven-year-old marriage after snatching her husband whom she took on romantic foreign trips.

Netsai Maurukira told the Marondera Civil Court yesterday that she was now "suffering a lot" since Mutinhiri, the former Labour and Social Services deputy minister and former legislator for Marondera East, began an affair with her husband.

She said her estranged husband Shepherd Kaserera once confessed to her that he was going out with Mutinhiri.

Marondera provincial magistrate Mr Sikhumbuzo Nyathi advised Maurukira to file a lawsuit against Mutinhiri if she felt the former minister was interfering with her marriage.

Maurukira had been brought to court by Kaserera who was seeking a downward variation of maintenance fees from US$50 which he is paying her after he left home unceremoniously and is suspected to be co-habiting with Mutinhiri.

The marriage between Kaserera and Maurukira did not produce children.

Maurukira said the affair between Mutinhiri and her husband, which she suspected had been going on for some time became public when he became Mutinhiri's secretary at her constituency offices three years ago.

This was after Mutinhiri was appointed Labour and Social Welfare deputy minister.

Maurukira said Mutinhiri took her husband on romantic trips to China and local areas like Chinhoyi.

"I deserve to get what I am getting as maintenance because I suffered a lot after he started having an affair with Mai Mutinhiri," she said.

"At the time he was her secretary and I did not know something was going on between the two. I married this man under Chapter 5:11, but they would go all over the country, forgetting that I am his wife. This tore apart my marriage and one day he confessed to me that they were lovers."

Kaserera did not respond to the allegations.

He applied for postponement of the case after his witnesses, Faith Chivavaya and Davison Choruwa had been issued with warrants of arrest for failure to appear in court.

Chivavaya and Choruwa were expected to collaborate Kaserera's allegations in the same court two weeks ago that his wife now had other sources of income and there was a strong case for downward variation of the maintenance fees.

Maurukira said she was living in fear and suspected her estranged husband was conniving with Mutinhiri to harm her.

"He applied for a downward variation of the fees and he is hiring reporters who came to the farm I was allocated under land reform to take pictures.

"I am not sure if he is doing that in partnership with Mai Mutinhiri. I received calls from people who were asking about my farm and Chinese road contractors who are staying there."

Maurukira said a malicious story about her farm and the Chinese contractors once appeared in The Zimbabwean.

"I am afraid something might happen to me, henceforth I am seeking this court's help," she said.

Mr Nyathi postponed the matter to May 13 after issuing the warrants of arrest against Kaserera's witnesses.

He warned Maurukira against intimidating Kaserera's witnesses after he indicated that she had once threatened them.
Mr Nyathi said Maurukira could sue The Zimbabwean for the article that offended her.

Mutinhiri joined MDC-T after being expelled from Zanu-PF for working against the revolutionary party in her constituency.

She subsequently lost her parliamentary seat and ministerial post.