BINGA — A 75-year-old man, who is a member of the Johanne Marange Apostolic sect from Chishizha area with eight wives and 79 children, stunned the court in mitigation before sentence for perjury when he said he planned to marry two more wives next month.
Report by Silas Nkala, Staff Reporter
Luke Mubaiwa appeared before Binga resident magistrate Stephen Ndlovu to answer to a charge of supplying false information to a public office (the police) claiming that one Matron Moyo had raped his daughter. The magistrate warned and discharged him, citing his age and family responsibilities.
The court heard that on August 7 last year, Mubaiwa went to Lusulu Police Station in Binga, where he reported that Moyo had raped his daughter.
Police investigations established that his report was false and he was arrested.
In mitigation, Mubaiwa shocked the court when he said he had not yet reached his target number of wives as he intended to marry two more women by November this year to make them 10. “I am intending to marry another two new wives as I have not yet reached the number of wives I want,” he said.
“I will be going for a church meeting in November at Gokwe. That is when I will officially introduce my new wives to the church.”
After the magistrate delivered his verdict, Mubaiwa openly thanked him and was heard talking to himself aloud, saying: “What would have happened to all my many children had I been jailed? Who would take care of them?” Bruce Maphosa prosecuted.
