×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Mhere marriage scandal: The diminishing role of aunts

News
THE manner in which musician Mathias Mhere’s matrimonial issues with his wife Susan have been handled leaves a lot to be desired.

THE manner in which musician Mathias Mhere’s matrimonial issues with his wife Susan have been handled leaves a lot to be desired.

BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA

The transitions that Zimbabwean societies have gone through have left no formula as to how one deals with matrimonial issues.

Cases of infidelity have been known to be dealt with in accordance with people’s culture, with the involvement of aunts and other family elders expected to bring finality and mutual understanding.

This week, however saw the popular gospel musician’s life becoming a living drama that kept Zimbabweans’ eyes and ears open to see and hear how the musician would handle the case.

The publication of a thread of intimate WhatsApp messages between his wife of six years and Mhere’s close friend Gift pointed to a great degree of infidelity.

Questions were raised pertaining to who might have leaked the messages, with many fingers pointing at Mhere himself.

Many other messy relationships came to mind and these include musician Alick Macheso and Tafadzwa Mapako’s acrimonious divorce.

The Budiriro woman whose video circulated extensively on social media that apparently ridiculed the husband and his sisters more than the alleged cheater — herself — also comes to mind.

But why would Mhere — a religious young man — wash his dirty linen in public and choose to have his marital issues dealt with in the media? To many, he is the victim and has received sympathies from music lovers.

Some are even waiting for a chance to get to meet Susan so they can give her a piece of their minds.

But we have not forgotten about the young university student who lent Mhere money two years ago and was allegedly told she would only get it after she had a sexual relationship with him.

It seems the world sympathises with cheated spouses in spite of their own shenanigans.

But if at all this is true and not fabricated, the simple prediction is Mhere, like any other celebrity, will suffer torture due to the “I am important attitude”.

Celebrities are after all human and their social standing should never mislead them into thinking they are supernatural.

It is that pride; that petrol fire which led him into saying “handinzwarwo” (she cannot do that to me) that will leave Mhere the loser at the end of it all.

One wonders what elders at their church are saying.

I wonder too what all those mothers and fathers of teenage boys who look up to Mhere as a role model are thinking.

Many have met Susan before and have even seen her pictures in the media but most likely have already forgotten what she looks like.

But no one will forget Mhere, whose wife allegedly cheated on him with his friend.

Susan does not have a name to defend and Mhere should in no way ever think publicising the scandal will shame her.

Celebrities worldwide try by all means possible to prevent their private lives from getting into the public domain and it is shocking that in this part of the world they freely dish the information to the prying paparazzi.

How naïve.