Harare man offers US$5 maintenance

A Harare man has been ordered to pay US$30 a month in child maintenance while a DNA test is conducted to establish whether he is the biological father.

Norest Karimatsenga was brought before Harare Civil Court magistrate Hannah Fazilamed by Ruvarashe Yobe, who was seeking US$100 monthly support for the upkeep of their seven-month-old child. Yobe, a vendor, told the court that her income was too low to adequately provide for the child on her own.

Karimatsenga initially offered US$5 per month, insisting that he was unemployed and depended entirely on his parents who live in the rural areas. He also applied for a paternity test, stating that he was uncertain whether the child was his. Yobe rejected his claim of financial incapacity and asked the court to order a payment of at least US$30.

Karimatsenga later revised his offer to US$10, but after hearing both parties, Magistrate Fazilamed ruled that he should pay US$30 monthly, effective immediately. The court stressed that the order was provisional and subject to the results of the DNA test.

If paternity is confirmed, the maintenance order is expected to remain in force. If the test rules him out as the father, the order will be set aside.