Popular sungura musician Alick Macheso has been ordered to pay a total of $1 030 per month for the maintenance of his second wife Fortunate Mapako and their two children after the court ruled that the parties’ unregistered marriage union still exists.
CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Harare magistrate Tafadzwa Muvhami said according to the evidence presented in court, Macheso was still customarily married to Mapako so he was liable to maintain her until they divorced or until she passed on.
Macheso would be paying maintenance to the sum of $750 for the two children and $280 for Mapako.
The court also ordered the parties to go for paternity tests before June 6.
“The order is not an interim maintenance order, but an order that can be terminated as and when results of the DNA test prove the minors are not respondent’s. I order the parties to avail themselves at the Blood Transfusion Services on a date to be agreed by the parties and not later than June 6,” Muvhami said.
In his judgment, Muvhami said Macheso and Mapako had failed to justify their offers, but simply made bold assertions that were not substantiated by any other evidence.
The magistrate said Mapako had failed to convince the court why she was claiming a whopping $7 130 and also failed to justify how Macheso would manage to raise such a large sum of money.
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In the same vein, the magistrate said Macheso had also failed to justify why he had initially offered to pay $1 250 only to turn around and offer to pay a paltry $150.
Prior to the pronouncement of the judgment, Mapako’s lawyer Gift Nyandoro made an application for the judgment to be delivered in chambers, saying his client had previously been jeered by the public, but his application was dismissed.
The magistrate ordered the police to offer Mapako protection from members of the public and proceedings had to be adjourned to allow Mapako to be taken from outside the court building into the courtroom under the escort of police officers.
The court proceedings were attended by hundreds of Macheso’s fans, including popular musician Sulumani Chimbetu, who came in solidarity with his fellow artiste.
