Hwende sues Sunday Mail over Biti ‘affair’ article

Former Harare Polytechnic student leader and current MDC-T National Executive Member Charlton Hwende has instructed his lawyers to take legal action against the state owned Sunday Mail newspaper and its journalist Munyaradzi Huni.

Hwende is demanding that the paper retract a “false and malicious story which seeks to mislead the public that I am involved in the ZANU PF onslaught against my Secretary General Mr Tendai Biti.”

The article titled ‘Biti in messy office romance scandal’ claimed Finance Minister Tendai Biti “is embroiled in a messy office romance scandal with a desk economist in his ministry, Petronella Chishawa, that has prompted the woman’s husband, Caesar Matandirotya, to take legal action.”

According to the paper “the alleged relationship between Biti and Petronella was confirmed by Matandirotya’s maid, Patricia, Petronella’s cousin Mercy Mhandu from Mutare and one of the minister’s long-time friends, Charlton Hwende.”

A furious Hwende meanwhile said “apart from the fact that this guy went to the same school with my employee, I totally deny any statements linked to me in this criminally defamatory story. I have no idea of this man, his wife and the link he is trying to create between me and his problems.”

“Most critically, I want to denounce and distance myself from any malicious attacks against my senior and SG of the party Tendai Biti. I take this as a smear campaign against the Minister by the State secret agency,” Hwende told Nehanda Radio.com

Below Nehanda Radio reproduces the offending article published by the Sunday Mail.

Biti in messy office romance scandal

By Munyaradzi Huni

Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who is also the MDC-T secretary-general, is embroiled in a messy office romance scandal with a desk economist in his ministry, Petronella Chishawa, that has prompted the woman’s husband, Caesar Matandirotya, to take legal action, it has been learnt.

Matandirotya, who is a Harare businessman, has since separated from his wife. The two, who used to stay in New Marlborough, have a baby boy who is 14 months old.

It is understood that Minister Biti, in a bid to conceal the affair, had bought Petronella a “secret phone” while he called her from numbers that were registered under John Huruva, an MDC-T official based at Harvest House.

In an affidavit lodged by the aggrieved husband, problems in the couple’s home started in September last year when the wife would not answer her husband’s phone calls while on many occasions she would go to work even on Saturdays and Sundays.

The alleged relationship between Biti and Petronella was confirmed by Matandirotya’s maid, Patricia, Petronella’s cousin Mercy Mhandu from Mutare and one of the minister’s long-time friends, Charlton Hwende.

Said Matandirotya: “On the 23rd of September 2010 around six in the evening I phoned my wife to check where she was since I was at home early that day and she told me she was by Aldo Clothing opposite Karigamombe Centre checking on some outfits. “I then drove with my cousin to pick her up as she did not answer me in a convincing manner since I was already suspecting that she was cheating on me.

“On arrival by the shop she was talking to someone on the phone and she took quite some time to notice us since we were in the vehicle which she was not familiar with. When she noticed us she panicked and approached the vehicle still talking on the phone. When she got into the back seat of the vehicle she did not say goodbye to the person she was talking to on the phone and instead she just greeted us, putting the phone in her handbag.

“We went home straight and when we got into the house she went straight to the bedroom and dropped her handbag. When she came back to the lounge that is when I pretended I was going to the toilet and went in the bedroom where I opened her handbag and checked the dialled and received numbers.

“That is when I saw a recurring number, 0772 568 807, which I dialled and a male voice answered me but refused to identify himself after I introduced myself. I then went back to the lounge where she was seated with my cousin and after a few minutes I asked her if she could give me her phone as if I wanted to phone someone using her phone. She then said it didn’t have airtime but I insisted, saying I would even send a message.

“That is when she went to the bedroom but I had smelt a rat. She then deleted the call history including my last incoming call. When she came back with the phone in the lounge that is when the real drama started for I then asked her to follow me to the bedroom after I realised the deleted incoming and outgoing calls,” said Matandirotya.

He said his wife was not aware of some of the phone’s features and so when she deleted the dialled and received calls, she was not aware that some information was also captured by the voice call log function which can store such information for up to one month.

He said the two had a heated argument and later the wife admitted that she knew the numbers and indicated that they belonged to her boss, a Mr Zharare. Later the wife changed the story, saying the numbers belonged to her sister, Charity Chishawa.

“After several attempts she then said this gentleman is one Benedict Sunduza from Bulawayo whom she met in a salon and was interested in getting her number,” said the husband.

He said after this incident his wife started behaving suspiciously as she would give all sorts of excuses to be away from him.

“I phoned the number, 0774 346 082, and asked the gentlemen who answered to reveal his identify, but he refused. Later I asked if he knew Petronella and then he said ‘I don’t know her and I talk to so many people because of the nature of my job. After all, if you have got problems with your wife, sort out your problems.”

Later, Matandirotya asked one of his wife’s sisters to call the number, 0774 346 082, and she was answered by some gentleman who refused to name himself preferring to say he was just Petronella’s friend

“Whilst my wife was in Tanzania I checked with Econet who was the owner of the lines that were appearing on my wife’s phone.

The two lines, 0772 568 807 and 0774 346 082, were registered under the name John Huruva. I even requested one of my close friends to call the number as if he knew Huruva to get confirmation from him, which was in the affirmative.

“Now that I had established the owner of the lines as John Huruva, we spoke openly about this Huruva guy in the house such that the maid was aware that I knew the owner of the line,” he said.

However, the maid later revealed to one of the lodgers at the house that Huruva was not the owner of the two lines.

He later befriended the maid who spilled the beans.

Said Matandirotya: “She disclosed that my wife’s sister, Mercy Mhandu, had told her that Mai Ceejay, my wife, was no longer interested in me but had a new boyfriend who she pointed to her in a newspaper and stated his name as Tendai Biti whilst they were in my wife’s office at the New Government complex . . .

“This happened the day the maid had gone to get her passport photos taken. She also disclosed to me that when I was away in Bulawayo for business, my wife would be dropped at night and asked her not to tell me all that she had witnessed.

The maid told Matandirotya that on this particular day she was asked by Petronella “to take some papers that were in her handbag” and she saw some papers with Tendai Biti’s name. Petronella then asked the maid if she knew who Tendai Biti was to which the maid professed ignorance.

Petronella then said to the maid: “Ndivo vava panyanga ava.”

Matandirotya said he then informed one of his friends, Patience, who works for Pelvin Investments in Eastlea about the developments. He said Patience promised that she would ask his boss, Charlton Hwende, about the affair as she knew that her boss was very close to Biti.

“Hwende then said he would want to meet me and explain what exactly had transpired for me to come to know about this affair.

“The very day I visited the offices I was with the maid who confessed in front of Charlton Hwende what my wife’s sister Mercy Mhandu had told her concerning the relationship.

“Hwende then said I would hear from him by end of the following day after I gave him the three numbers that were appearing on my wife’s phone.

He then asked me what I was going to do if it was true that my wife was in a relationship with Biti, but I simply told him that it would be proper if he is to advise me on the way forward.

“The following day he phoned me around 1350hrs and I had left my phone in a friend’s car. He then instructed my friend that I should return the call for the message was urgent.

“When I phoned him around 1600hrs he told me to come to his office and also to bring a photo of my wife for there was a certain event he wanted to compare with.

“He went on to say we have managed to get hold of the culprit. I then further asked which culprit and he said he is the one, meaning Biti. Immediately after telling Hwende that I would be there around five o’clock I cut off the phone and called Patience.

“Patience confirmed saying that the culprit has been identified as the honourable minister and that Hwende is in a dilemma as to how he would divulge the message to me. I then advised her that I would talk to her later on since I had spoken to Hwende who had requested to see my wife’s photos.

“I then called later on at around 1900hrs to tell Hwende that I was bringing my wife’s photo as he had requested. Hwende said he was in a meeting and that is the last day I spoke to him.

“Immediately after that I phoned Patience who was jittery and was not willing to communicate alleging that when I spoke to her earlier on she was on the loud speaker and was afraid since senior Government officials were involved.

“On the 11th of June, my wife came back from Tanzania and tried calling me using a private number but I did not speak to her for I was just answering and not talking on the phone.

“She then sent me a text message saying ‘I want to see you; I want you to stop this drama’.

“Around seven in the evening I went to my friend’s place where my son and maid where and collected them to take my son to the hospital as he was not feeling well.

“My son was admitted at Westend Hospital. I then decided to take the maid home and come back later.

“We got home only to find that my wife was sleeping in the spare bedroom . . .”

Matandirotya said his wife is now staying with one of her sisters in Belvedere as they are now on separation.There are reports that Petronella enjoys several trips abroad sponsored by the ministry.-The Sunday Mail