Man threatens to kill ‘rival’ who impregnated his wife

By Gibson Mhaka

A heartsore man caused a rumpus at court when he threatened to spill blood after his application for a peace order against a man who impregnated his wife was dismissed by the magistrate for inadequate evidence.

It appears Beven Charwadza from Insiza couldn’t fathom the ruling by Bulawayo magistrate Rachael Mukanga when he started shouting claiming the court had protected his rival — Raymond Stoddart who has apparently done him more harm than good by impregnating his wife Thabitha Mutizira.

So dicey was the situation that the helpless Charwadza — his name literally meaning being painful — threatened to spill blood saying that was the only way out to soothe his anger.

Sensing danger the magistrate quickly ordered the police to briefly detain him in the court cells housed at the Tredgold Building.

In his application, Charwadza claimed Stoddart courted his anger when he sired a baby girl with his wife when he was working out of the country.

He said Stoddart was now disturbing his peace by constantly coming to his home to look for Mutizira under the pretext of wanting to see his daughter.

“I am applying for a peace order against Raymond Stoddart citing the following reason that he took away my wife Thabitha Mutizira when I was working out of the country and they sired a child together.

“When I discovered it Thabeth ran away from him to her rural home in Gutu. Stoddart is now coming to my home looking for Tabitha under the pretext of seeing his child. That disturbs my peace and that of my two children,” complained Charwadza.

Stoddart through his lawyer dismissed Charwadza’s claims saying he was being “economical with the truth”.

“His application is premised on falsehood. His averment that I took away his wife when he was out of the country is with respect misleading.

“The correct version of the events is that I had an affair with Thabitha Mutizira in 2018 while I was working in Shangani.

“We worked together at the same homestead where the applicant claims is his homestead. We stayed together for a period of 18 months and Thabitha Mutizira got pregnant with my child,” claimed Stoddart is his founding affidavit.

He said when Thabitha gave birth to a baby girl, she surrendered her to his family when she was one year old, the reason being that she was getting back to her husband whom she had two children with.

“And that the baby being a coloured race, she said it does not belong to her family. My family complied and accepted the child. In 2019 Thabitha instituted legal proceedings against myself and my family claiming custody of the minor child.

“She misled the court into believing that the baby was deceitfully taken from her and that she was not thinking straight when she surrendered her. The court awarded her custody of the child, subject to my exercising right of reasonable access by collecting the child from her homestead every Friday and surrendering her every Sunday”.

He further said Thabitha, was however, threatening him and his family that they were not going to see the minor child before she applied for a protection order against him claiming he was verbally and physically abusing her.

The application was however, dismissed as it was reportedly without merits.

Stoddart also dismissed Charwadza’s allegations that he was in the habit of coming to his home threatening him under the pretext of wanting to see his child.

“In fact I stayed and took care of those minor children for a period of more than 18 months, as such it’s strange that I am said to be threatening them and disturbing their peace.

“His application for a peace order is motivated by the fear that he and his alleged wife are in contempt of court by denying me access rights to the minor child”.

He passionately begged the court to dismiss Charwadza’s application saying it was founded upon unsubstantial and malicious allegations.

His prayers were however, answered when the presiding magistrate dismissed the application much to Charwadza’s disappointment. B-Metro