Bulawayo businessman neglects ‘bad omen’ twins into orphanage

PROMINENT Bulawayo businessman Francis Tagarira’s twin children were taken to an orphanage after he failed to support them, a court heard.

Tagarira – who runs Tagarira Brothers (Pvt) Ltd which once owned a fleet of buses, bakeries and supermarkets – was in court yesterday to hear his wife accuse him of neglecting their children.

Magret Tavengwa, the businessman’s second wife, told how she was forced to lie when she told orphanage officials that her husband had died in order to secure a place for their twins.

She asked magistrate Victor Mpofu to force Tagarira to shell out US$1,278 in maintenance monthly for the upkeep of their children.

She said Tagarira did not accept his children when they were born 10 years ago after his relatives told him that it was a bad omen to have twins in their family. Tagarira has four children from his first marriage and got married to Tavengwa in 2003.

She said: “He has never taken care of the children ever since they were young. He never loved them because his family believes that twins are a bad omen in the family.

“I’ve been patient all along thinking that my husband will come to his senses and accept his children.

“The situation got worse when I fell sick and could not take care of the children until I decided to surrender them to an orphanage. I lied to the authorities at the home that their father had died. I was later forced to withdraw them after the authorities discovered that their father was alive.”

The couple is no longer living together, Tagarira accuses Tavengwa of kicking him out of the house and accommodating a boyfriend. She denies his claims.

Tavengwa said the couple established a bakery but Tagarira sidelined her when business was good, only to come back to her after he had been arrested for defaulting on payment for some bakery equipment.

Tagarira left the court in stitches when he told the magistrate that he could only afford to pay $30 per month for the upkeep of his twin children. He claimed he was ill and not working, saying he was now surviving on handouts from his other children.

“I love my children and it’s not true that I neglected them. Maybe my relatives did not accept my children but I did. This woman is the reason why I left the family business and joined her company.

“We worked together but she never paid me for the services I rendered. She later kicked me out of the house saying I didn’t have money and told me not to disturb her and her new husband,” said Tagarira.

“I’m not well and my condition makes it difficult for me to be employed. I survive on handouts from my children. I therefore ask the court to allow me to pay $30 per month for the children.”

Magistrate Mpofu ordered Tagarira to pay his wife $100 per month. The Chronicle