Chiyangwa threatens wife’s lawyer as divorce case takes new twist

By Mthulisi Mathuthu

Philip Chiyangwa has threatened a Harare lawyer for misrepresenting his wife in a divorce case filed last week, after family members moved in to try to save his marriage.

Chiyangwa’s close relatives are reportedly seeking to end the feud which has revealed the Harare businessman’s extreme wealth, in a country where millions are wallowing in poverty.

A Tuesday NewsDay report quoted Chiyangwa’s relative John Mapondera confirming that he had met with both Elizabeth and her husband and was mediating towards a ‘conciliation’.

Mapondera said he first met with the wife in London last Saturday before meeting the Chiyangwa family in Harare earlier this week. Mapondera said he has suggested a ‘six month’ ‘cooling-off period’ during which the divorce case will remain in the courts as the pair ‘seeks conciliation’.

Perhaps emboldened by the latest development Chiyangwa immediately launched a broadside at Elizabeth’s lawyer Isaiah Mureriwa, accusing him of misrepresenting his wife.

Chiyangwa said ‘the matter is legally dead’ and Mureriwa has ‘mishandled’ the matter and ‘gone too far’ in filing the suit for divorce, the report said. Chiyangwa threatened ‘to go after’ Mureriwa whom he said ‘must be exposed’.

However, according to the report, Mureriwa refused to be ‘dragged into that discussion’ choosing to say ‘every lawyer acts on instructions’.

In her divorce papers Elizabeth said Chiyangwa has shown he no longer loves her by his numerous affairs with other women. Elizabeth is reportedly demanding an 85 percent stake in her husband’s $ 270 million business empire and maintenance of $83,000 a month for a period of 10 years.

According to the NewsDay, Chiyangwa has ‘ring fenced his wealth into a family trust in which Elizabeth is a member alongside nine children, two of who are Elizabeth’s. SW Radio Africa