VICTORIA Falls councillor Ephias Mambume (MDC Alliance) has been dragged to court for impregnating a married woman and refusing to pay for the costs involved in child birth.
By Nokuthaba Dlamini
The plaintiff, Pretty Mutakela, of Chinotimba sued Mambume after he denied responsibility, accusing her of having multiple partners.
Matakela told resident magistrate Rangaria Gakanje on Thursday that Mambume had blocked her from carrying out a paternity test, while Mambume in his defence accused the married woman of trying to fleece him.
According to court papers, two started dating in December last year and were intimate on several occasions between March and April. She applied for lying-in expenses when she fell pregnant.
“I started dating him on the 31st of December, 2017 when I was still married. My husband found out about the affair in January and threw me out.
“He [Mambume] would visit me from time to time at my new place of residence and we slept together in March and also three times in April,”
“In April, I discovered that I was pregnant and when I told him, he denied the child and immediately blocked my number.
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Asked if she had other lovers, Matakela responded: “There was no-one I was sleeping with besides him. He is responsible for the pregnancy and does not want to buy the unborn child’s preparation.”
Mambume insisted in court that Mutakela was married.
“She is a legally married woman who is staying with her husband and it’s a surprise that she chooses me. I’m the second person that she is attempting to sue over the case. I last slept with her in March and from there until April 4 I was away at school.
“On April 6 she slept with Mike my friend and she then ran away from her home and started staying with him. I only got to know about this in June when she told me about it, so my submission is that there are three men involved with this lady and for economic reasons she is choosing me.”
Mambume said he earned only $400, was raising four minor children and was married.
He offered to pay $80 for the preparation list against the $240 she was seeking.
Gakanje ordered him to pay lying-in expenses of $150, which he should deposit into Matakela’s bank account before October 31.
