By Staff Reporter
Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo is reportedly demanding US$500 000 from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in order to settle her maintenance dispute with the MDC-T leader out of court.
Lawyers for the PM and his ex-lover are due back in court next week after they asked for more time to negotiate on Thursday. Speculation is that a one off US$200 000 figure had been agreed before Karimatsenga raised her demands.
Karimatsenga who fought tooth and nail in a futile bid to block Tsvangirai’s wedding to Elizabeth Macheka is reportedly also demanding three oxen. Her lawyer Everson Samukange confirmed the deadlock, but dismissed the figures.
“I heard there are figures being talked about to be the money claimed by my client. Those figures are false and my client is not after money. We have deliberated on several issues, but the discussion failed to yield positive results.”
“This means we are going back to court to argue the matter. Next week we will be back in court. Our client does not want money. She is simply asserting her rights as a wife.”
Tsvangirai claims he only paid damages to Karimatsenga’s family after getting her pregnant. It now appears his emissaries who included MDC-T Women’s Assembly boss Theresa Makone had other ideas when they went to the Karimatsenga homestead last year.
This week it was reported that Theresa and her husband Ian Makone were paying Karimatsenga’s legal bills behind Tsvangirai’s back. The PM responded by demoting Makone in a major reshuffle of his office.
