Man's maintenance arrears hit $73 000

A Beatrice man defied a High Court judgment compelling him to pay maintenance for the upkeep of his three minor children, resulting in him accumulating $72 800 in arrears.

Benjamin Mumba, whose age was not given but owns a farm known as Piers in Beatrice, told the court that he once had a vibrant business up until the time he divorced his wife Tafadzwa Mwale.

The court heard that after their separation, Mwale applied for maintenance to the tune of $1 213, 33 and was granted at the Harare Civil Court on August 3 in 2010.

The order was effected from August 31 the same year under case number 3000/15. But Mumba never bothered to pay the maintenance, resulting in his arrears amounting to $72 800.