‘I was ditched for voting Zanu-PF’

By Fungai Lupande

A Harare woman has accused her husband of seeking a protection order against her as a way of “fixing” her for voting for Zanu-PF in the July 31 harmonised elections. 

This emerged at the Harare Civil courts were Simon Chijaka brought his wife Acquiline Chiyangwa, accusing her of abusing him.

Chijaka told the court that his wife assaults him and said he had body injuries to prove his allegation.

“She struck me on the head with a sharp object and I was hospitalised,” he said.

“The matter was taken to police and I am now living in fear of her. She insults me with vulgar words in the presence of our three children. She is so disrespectful and is in the habit of peddling lies about me.”

Chijaka blamed the “wayward” behaviour of his wife on what he terms “her late husband’s avenging spirit.

“Her husband died after he was shot by her brother, maybe it is the reason she behaves weirdly,” he said.

Responding to the allegations, Chiyangwa told the court that Chijaka had since left her for another woman. She claimed that he was incensed by her vote.

“It troubled me what could have been the reason that my husband lost love for me until one day his girlfriend told me that I lost him because I voted for Zanu-PF,” she said.

“My husband went on to live at the residential stand we acquired together with his girlfriend, leaving me and the children suffering.”

Magistrate Ms Olivia Mariga granted the protection order in Chijaka’s favour.