Man drags wife and kids to court for bashing

A Harare man has brought his wife and three children to the Harare Civil Court for ganging up against him and beating him with fists and an iron bar.

Onismo Makovere filed a protection order application against his family; wife Chiedzo Roya, daughter Chiedza and two sons Blessing and his juvenile brother.

Makovere suffered body injuries due to the assault. Magistrate Tendai Manhanzva dismissed Chiedza and Blessing from the application ona grounds that the duo was no longer staying with Makovere, hence a protection order was not the proper recourse. Makovere told the court that he made a police report against his family after they broke his arm.

"When I made the report, these four had also proceeded to another police station to make a report against me. They were, however, arrested and detained but were released the following morning," he said. The matter is pending at the criminal court and Makovere told the court that his juvenile son was undergoing vetting procedures at Social Welfare.

Roya in response told the court that although the matter was pending at the criminal court, home had become living hell.

"We can no longer stay at home. Father has become a vicious lion. He threatens to strike the whole family with an axe or burn us," she said. She told the court that their younger son had fled the home and was now staying with neighbours because he was now scared of his father.

Magistrate Manhanzva told Makovere that she was deferring proceedings in the protection order application because the matter was pending at the criminal court.
"The criminal court has to deal with the matter first so that we do not pass corresponding judgments," she said.