Spy cameras nail sex pastor

A GWERU woman must be cursing her gods after approaching the courts seeking a review of her monthly maintenance payout from $600 to a staggering $5 050 but came out worse off after the magistrate cancelled the maintenance after evidence of her cheating escapades with a local pastor were exposed.

The woman, Lula Masvanhise, sometime last year allegedly got into an adulterous relationship with her pastor Lloyd Gangata of the Covenant Life Ministers allegedly at the blessing of her husband Ronald Masvanhise after he had allegedly suffered an erectile dysfunction.

It was alleged that Ronald had at the time agreed to have the man of the cloth sleep with his wife but unbeknown to the wife the husband secretly installed the closed circuit television (CCTV) in their bedroom which recorded all his wife's sexual encounters with her pastor. Lula claimed she did not know that the alleged "sex contract" was a ploy to get rid of her and also deny her of spousal maintenance on the basis that she had committed adultery.

The stunning revelations came out when Lula approached Gweru magistrate Vimbai Makora seeking an upward variation of $5 050 for her spousal maintenance of $600. According to court papers submitted by Lula's legal representative, Arnold Sakuinje of Mhaka Attorneys, she claimed her estranged husband is an engineer in Saudi Arabia earning about R129 000 a month.

She said when she engaged in a sexual relationship with her pastor, her husband secretly recorded them so that he could use the explicit videos as an excuse for him not to pay maintenance. She maintained that her sexual relationship with Gangata was not adultery because they had agreed with her husband that she should seek sexual gratification out of wedlock.

"The respondent earns R129 000 monthly. Apart from the monies that the respondent realises from business adventures, he also realises R10 000 a month from renting out our matrimonial home in Germiston, South Africa. He is also getting $300 from renting out our house in Woodlands Park, Gweru. I am seeking to get an increase to $5 050 which includes $2 000 rent, $1  000 for holidays, $500 for clothes, $500 for groceries, among other expenses," reads part of her submission.

She also claimed that her husband hired thugs who forced her to sign for the release of their children from a school in South Africa before taking them to Gweru.

"On 26 June, respondent brought thugs to our matrimonial home in South Africa without my knowledge and forcibly took me to the children's school to sign for their release. He fraudulently smuggled my kids to Zimbabwe without my consent and placed them in the custody of third parties," she said.

In response, the respondent (Ronald)'s legal representatives from Dzimba Javaraza and Associates, disputed Lula's claims. They said their client never agreed to the "sex contract" and he only found out about the illicit affair through CCTV cameras which he had secretly installed in his house.

"The applicant committed adultery while she was in South Africa. Evidence is overwhelming and abounding in the form of video footages. Ronald is not in a position of paying spousal maintenance to her as she had committed adultery. The video which was captured on CCTV and circulated over the Internet can be produced in court," reads the arguments prepared by Ronald's lawyers.

"The sum of R129 000 that the applicant is claiming is shocking given that the respondent is currently out of employment. He was contracted by the SRACO as a control and instrument engineer since 12 February 2015 up to 13 February 2016. His contact has since expired."

However, Magistrate Makora dismissed both the review and the maintenance case citing Section 10 of the Maintenance Act (chapter 5:09) which states that the court may dismiss the application for maintenance on the grounds that the applicant committed adultery.