SUNGURA maestro Alick Macheso’s former wife Fortunate Tafadzwa Mapako is no longer entitled to a $280 monthly maintenance from her estranged husband following Harare magistrate Tawanda Muvhami’s decision to uphold the couple’s divorce.
CHARLES LAITON
Muvhami had last month ordered Macheso to pay $280 monthly maintenance to Tafadzwa and $750 for the couple’s two children pending the outcome of their paternity tests and divorce proceedings.
Macheso divorced her customarily before paternity tests carried out at the Red Cross laboratory confirmed him as the father of the two children at the centre of the controversy.
“Customary law divorce proceedings were properly done and accordingly, there is no longer any legal basis for her to be maintained,” Muvhami said in a ruling made on June 14, but kept under wraps by both parties.
The sungura musician will, however, continue maintaining his minor children until they attain 18 years of age.
Macheso told the court that he handed over a token of divorce to Tafadzwa’s relatives and filmed the event as proof in case the latter disputed the issue.
He said although Tafadzwa had personally refused to accept the divorce coin and declined to open the gate for his emissary Jefta Marunguzha, she sent one of her relatives, Blessing Masiiwa, to communicate with Marunguzha. But Masiiwa also refused to accept the token of rejection which was tossed about between the parties before Marunguzha left the residence, an explanation which was accepted by the court.
