Man disowns wife and child following a protection order appplication

A man from Mutare publicly disowning his wife in court following her application for a protection order against him.

The couple had been together for the past 24 years.

Claude Uromba told the court that Mary Makahamadze, the woman who had dragged him to court seeking a protection order against him was in fact his concubine and not his legal wife.

Mutare magistrate, Mrs Anniah Ndiraya presided over the matter. According to Uromba, they have been cohabiting for 24 years, but Makahamadze was singing from a different hymn book claiming that he was her husband.

"It is an insult for him to call me his concubine Your Worship because we have been staying together for 24 years. He actually has a concubine with whom he has three children.

"He goes there and he comes back home drunk, insulting and assaulting me.

"If he sees me as a concubine Your Worship, I pray he leaves my family alone so that we fend for ourselves as we have been doing before without his aid," she cried. In her affidavit, Makahamadze stated that Uromba was a violent husband and father.

"He is vulgar and even in a commuter omnibus, he shouts profanities at me. He shouts my HIV status so that everybody knows," she claimed.

She also produced in court a handful of her hair that Uromba had uprooted from her head and said that it was not the first time that he had done so. Uromba admitted to having uprooted Makahamadze's hair and said it was as a result of her stubbornness.

"Your Worship, I admit that I uprooted her hair and I am not sorry. Makahamadze is trying to paint a good picture of herself, but she is very aggressive. She has subjected me to vicious physical pain and all this usually happens when I come from visiting my other concubine.

"She complains that I spent a lot of money on my other children yet it is my right to do so," he defended himself.

Uromba told the court that he was actually the victim in the matter and not Makahamadze. Uromba was barred from assaulting, insulting and disturbing Makahamadze's peace in any other way possible.