Teacher hires private investigators to stalk wife

A TEACHER at a local private school has allegedly hired a private investigator to stalk his wife after she reportedly deserted their matrimonial home following a string of physical and verbal abuse.

Gabriel Munyanyi, employed by Petra High School, was allegedly in the habit of harassing his wife, Lee-Anne Chitatariso, employed at Xpose Hair Salon in the city centre until she left their matrimonial home to stay with her relatives.

This emerged at the Bulawayo Civil Court where Chitatariso sought a protection order against her abusive husband.

A teary Chitatariso said she moved out of the matrimonial house on 4 June this year after Munyanyi beat her up in front of their children aged five and three years old.

"I am married to the respondent Gabriel Munyanyi under Chapter 5:11. We are no longer staying together after I moved out of our matrimonial house on 4 June this year. This was after he severely beat me up.

"After that he revealed to me that he had hired a private investigator to stalk me. He is very abusive and is in the habit of beating me up in front of children.

"He is also threatening to kill me while calling me names. He threatens me through phone calls and text messages and by so doing so he is disturbing my peace," stated Chitatariso in her submissions for a protection order.

Chitatariso further said she was now living in fear as her husband was also in the habit of coming to harass her at her workplace.

In response, Munyanyi's lawyer said if an order was to be granted it should be in the best interest of the children.

"We did not like the order to be imposed as it is likely to stop the respondent from accessing his children.  The parties are married in terms of the Marriage Act Chapter 5:11 which is still valid. It should be considered that the parties should maintain communication for the sake of the children.

"The applicant is nomadic as she has moved from Nketa to Nkulumane and from there to Queens Park in a space of a month and that traumatises children.

"We are not opposed to her application for a protection order but it is our prayer that the issue of the children should be taken into consideration. The order should also make sure that the applicant needs to communicate with the respondent on issues concerning the children," responded Munyanyi's lawyer.

Commenting while passing judgment the presiding magistrate Nyaradzo Ringisai said:

"From the applicant's submissions it is clear that the communication between the parties is currently unhealthy. The applicant hip-hopped from one place to another in a month's time and the court believes that the respondent was the one behind those movements.

"The order is hereby granted and the respondent should not harass the applicant in any way or to go to her workplace."