The Harare Civil Court has issued a garnishee order on Robert Mugabe’s Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Deputy Minister Samuel Undenge for the maintenance of his two children.
The order to pay US$300 for his two children with ex-wife Angeline Munyeza means he is now maintaining four kids at a cost of US$450 against a salary of US$458,75. He was already paying US$150 for the upkeep of two children from another previous marriage, which leaves him with a net salary of US$8,75.
The deputy minister has since consented to comply with the latest ruling, which was passed by magistrate Ms Olivia Mariga last month. Munyeza had approached the courts accusing the deputy minister of neglecting his children and having last bought school uniforms for them in 2005.
She claimed he had last contributed to the children’s upkeep in June 2006 and their daughter had been sent away from school because of unpaid fees. Deputy Minister Undenge, however, challenged Munyeza to go for a paternity test to determine if he really sired the two children.
He accused Munyeza of refusing to go for the tests because she had been promiscuous during their marriage and there was a possibility that someone else had fathered the children in question. He said his ex-wife was only interested in his money and did not communicate with him about how the children were.
The deputy minister said he had been trying to have the paternity tests done since 1997 and he had not even seen the children since then. He also denied that he was running a profitable farm in Chimanimani, something Munyeza had said meant he could afford to pay the US$480 she had been demanding.
The deputy minister said the farm was being sustained through bank loans and last summer season’s dry spell had resulted in poor yields. In court, Deputy Minister Undenge presented a payslip showing he earned US$458,75 and hence he could not afford the money being demanded.
He is paying US$150 maintenance for two children he has with another ex-wife, Rosemary Nyamande. The Zimbabwe Mail