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Sharon Mutungura

Lethokuhle Moyo Court Reporter
A BULAWAYO man who was allegedly told by a prophet that he was not the father of a three-month- old baby he is said to have sired with his girlfriend, yesterday denied paternity.Appearing before Bulawayo magistrate Tinashe Tashaya, Nhlonipho Moyo said the baby was not his as the months that Sharon Mutungura claimed to be pregnant do not tally with the month the baby was born.

He added that the woman once made him pay damages for a child that was not his.

“I am unemployed, your worship. I can’t afford to pay maintenance for this child and I am not even sure whether the child belongs to me,” said Moyo.

“We slept together in August last year and during that time she told me that she was not going to get pregnant because she was breastfeeding. I saw her vomiting in the middle of the month and asked her to take a pregnancy test.

“The following month, I took her with me to South Africa where she did the pregnancy test and told  me that it came out negative. She did the test for the second time and told me she was pregnant with my baby.”

Moyo conceded that Mutungura did the test alone as he does not know how to read the results of a pregnancy test.

He said he does not know the child’s date of birth.

The man kept on insisting to the magistrate that he is unemployed and is not able to pay maintenance for the child.

Mutungura was demanding $150 for the baby’s upkeep and claimed that Moyo once told him that a prophet had told him that he was not the father. She said Moyo also disowned the pregnancy.

“Your honour, when I was pregnant, he said that he went to prophets who told him the baby is not his. He used to assault me and even chucked me out of his house when I was still pregnant.

“My child was born in May and still has no birth certificate,” she added.

She said Moyo was lying that he was not employed because when she went to deliver summons at his sister’s company, the company owner said he worked there.

She admitted to the magistrate that Moyo once paid damages for a child that was not his, but claimed that she had previously told him the truth that the child was not his.

Magistrate Tashaya said it was possible Moyo was the father as Mutungura fell pregnant after they had had sex.

The magistrate ordered Moyo to pay $50 maintenance per month with effect from September.

He ordered him to go for a paternity test within three months and if he fails to do so, he would be made to maintain the child as his.