×
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.

When marriages go through messy conclusions

News
The majority of people who resort to divorce to end unions where partners have irreconcilable differences, often desire to part ways in peace to start afresh on a new page after the healing process.

The majority of people who resort to divorce to end unions where partners have irreconcilable differences, often desire to part ways in peace to start afresh on a new page after the healing process.

BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI

But research has shown that it is only a few people who experience such an ending as most divorces go through a messy conclusion.

When people tie the knot, according to marriage counsellor Susan Jaricha, divorce would be the last thing on their minds, but things often pan out differently from what they would have thought.

“This explains the high rate of divorce we have in this country,” she said.

“No one in their right senses would settle for divorce, particularly if you look at the kind of investment that people make in a marriage.”

When the 2014 High Court legal year was officially opened in Bulawayo in January last year, Judge President Justice George Chiweshe said divorce matters were on a worrying sharp ascent.

“In 2013, 473 divorce summons were issued compared to 425 in 2012. This represents an increase of 48 cases. It is regrettable that this trend has continued unabated,” he said.

“The ever-increasing workload in the High Court is a cause for concern. The bulk of the work that we receive relates to civil matters, though criminal matters have also been on the ascendancy.”

Further statistics indicate that divorce and other civil lawsuits at the High Court went up by at least 50% between 2013 and 2014, leading to the appointment of more judges.

In 2013 alone, the High Court dealt with up to 18 000 civil cases, with divorce topping the list, up from 12 759 brought before the court earlier in 2011.

Jaricha said some people that approached the courts to have their marriages annulled for a wide range of reasons.

“Although some of the reasons are understandable, in some of the cases, one is compelled to think that the parties will not necessarily be telling the truth in full,” she said.

“They just give explanations that would be plausible to the court, particularly if both parties are amenable to the divorce.”

Lawyer and marriage counsellor Pastor Davison Kanokanga, who runs the Marriage Centre together with his wife Pastor Gwendoline under their Christian Impact Centre church, said in an earlier interview that many couples viewed divorce as a solution when it was just symptomatic of underlying problems.

“The effect on the children is often overlooked. They just look at being liberated from a difficult marriage unaware that they could be creating new challenges for themselves,” he said.

“For instance, how will their friends address and relate with them once they have gone separate ways?”

Kanokanga said the rise in divorce cases in contemporary society was fed mainly by new multi-media technologies and social networking sites such as Facebook and even mobile phones.

“These new technologies have made it much easier for people to cheat. Now you can cheat even in the comfort of your home, or in your car, while busy on your mobile phone or iPad,” he said. “You’ll have ‘old flames’ hooking up on Facebook.”

In several of the divorce cases emanating from unfaithfulness that he has handled, Kanokanga said one spouse would say they discovered a love message in their partner’s cellphone.

He said it was important for the country to have legally recognised marriage centres to assist the courts in dealing with cases of divorce.

Kanokanga, however, noted that not all marriages headed for the scrapheap were retrievable particularly when none of the parties was willing to reform.

According to Jaricha, many of the couples headed for divorce were married young and often did not undergo pre-marital counselling to prepare them for the demands of marriage.

“I think we have problems with churches who just give pre-marital counselling just before the couple a few weeks before marriage,” Jaricha said.

“Considering that marriage should last a lifetime, under ideal circumstances, then counselling necessarily needs to be done over a long period of time until such a time when the prospective couple has an understanding of what marriage really is.”

Zimbabwe recognises a three –tier marriage system made up of the civil marriage governed by the Marriage Act Chapter 5:11 (formerly known as Chapter 37), which is strictly monogamous and solemnised either by a magistrate or a pastor registered as a marriage officer.

The second one is the registered customary law union governed by the Customary Marriages Act Chapter 5:07) and is based on customary practices and traditions and allows more than one wife. It is solemnised by a customary marriage officer or authorised by a magistrate.

The third type of marriage is the unregistered customary law union and is also a potentially polygamous marriage.

This marriage is governed strictly by customary practice and tradition. All that is required is the payment of the bride price. According to a paper on divorce procedures in Zimbabwe prepared by Harare lawyer Rose Mhlanga, divorce in a civil marriage can only be granted by the High Court.

She said the Matrimonial Causes Act set the parameters, within which a court may grant a decree of divorce and cited them as irretrievable marriage break-down and incurable mental illness or continuous unconsciousness of one of the parties to the marriage.

“For a party to successfully raise this ground for divorce and be granted a decree of divorce they have to satisfy and prove to the court that the marriage relationship has broken down to such an extent that there is no reasonable prospect of the restoration of a normal marriage relationship between them,” she said, adding that divorce could only be the final option.

She said it must be proven that the marriage would have broken down with no reasonable prospects of the restoration of a normal marriage.

The parties should not have lived together as husband and wife for a continuous period of at least twelve months immediately before the date of commencement of the divorce action or the other spouse would have committed adultery which would be incompatible with the continuation of a normal marriage.

Other grounds include a party imprisoned for over 15 years or has treated their partner cruelly or has used drugs or intoxicating substances to the extent that it affected the marriage. Divorce, however, recognised no status in society as it cut across societal strata.

In Zimbabwe, they have been high profile divorce cases including those of notable figures.

Recent high-profile divorces include that of Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo who separated with his wife, Marian.

Former Indigenisation minister Francis Nhema parted ways with Louise Sehlule Nkomo after 20 years and former Information minister Bright Matonga went separate ways with Anne Pout.

Former Prime Minister and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai divorced Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo after a brief stint, while Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo separated with Sibonokuhle Getrude.

Former Minister of State in former Vice-President Joice Mujuru Sylvester Nguni also went through a divorce with Tsitsi. Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga also went separate ways with Jocelyn.