By Gibson Mhaka
Judith Bhebhe from Bulawayo’s Mpopoma suburb thought protracted marital problems she had with her husband Precious Bhebhe were some of the problems inevitably faced by every couple.
That was until a fortnight ago when it turned out, they were no longer married after her husband “secretly” divorced her on 29 August 2018, in an apparent attempt to stop her from committing suicide.
According to Judith, she had no idea that this had happened — and she had not consented to the divorce. Precious is a prison officer and is stationed at Khami Prison Complex on the outskirts of Bulawayo.
The shocking discovery was heard when he approached the Bulawayo Civil Court seeking a protection order against his former wife claiming she was emotionally abusing him with her constant threats of attempting to commit suicide.
“I do hereby solemnly and sincerely swear or declare the following facts that Judith Bhebhe nee Sadya and I are officially divorced and she is constantly insulting and threatening me.
“She threatens to commit suicide at my mother’s place before she goes back to her family. My mother whom she is staying with is now living in fear of her threats of attempting to commit suicide to an extent that she is now visiting South Africa on regular basis as a way of avoiding her.
“She is also threatening to kill me and beat me up. She chases away my relatives whenever they visit my mother.
“She is forcibly staying with my mother despite the fact that we are now divorced,” said Precious before he tendered the divorce order to the presiding magistrate Rachael Mukanga.
That, however, surprised Judith who said she was failing to understand how the divorce order came about as she was never even called to be heard.
“I am hearing it for the first time. I know nothing about the divorce papers as I was never given the opportunity to defend them. This surprises me as I have all along been in possession of the original marriage certificate. I fail to understand how the divorce came about as I was never even called to be heard or to defend it.
“I am also surprised with his application for a protection order since he is the one who is always phoning me. I also deny sending him insulting and threatening messages of attempting to commit suicide. His mother is the one who invited me to stay with her following our protracted marital problems,” said Judith adding that she was going to challenge the divorce decree.
In a bid to stop Judith from living true to her threats of trying to end her life, the magistrate referred the parties for counselling. B-Metro
