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Marvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
A GWANDA teacher is claiming $8,000 from her husband’s “small house” in adultery damages and for depriving her quality time with him.Thema Ndiweni, a teacher at Jahunda Primary School, dragged her husband’s lover, Sikhohlisiwe Ndlovu, employed by Vumbachikwe Mine, to the Civil Court for having a love affair with her husband, Christopher Ndiweni, a human resources officer at the same mine.

Ndiweni and her husband are legally married under the Marriage Act Chapter 5:11 which dictates that a man should have only one wife.

However, Christopher has fathered a child with Ndlovu out of the “adulterous” relationship.

Through her lawyer, Lozithelo Mpofu of R Ndlovu and Company, Ndiweni, also a senior member of the Roman Catholic Church, is claiming $8,000 from Ndlovu for the pain and humiliation she suffered in her marriage allegedly because of Ndlovu’s affair with her husband.

“Plaintiff pleads to the defendant for dissolution of the affair with her husband. Wherefore plaintiff is claiming $4,000 for loss of love and affection, $2,000 for adultery damages and $2,000 for humiliation contimelia,” read Ndiweni’s claims.

In her claims, Ndiweni stated that she discovered that Ndlovu had a love affair with her husband in 2010.

She confronted her but Ndlovu denied the relationship.

On Monday, Christopher stood as a witness at the Gwanda Civil Court before magistrate Arafat Kozanai and said both Ndiweni and Ndlovu were his wives.

“In my understanding, the marriage I have with the plaintiff requires me to hold only one marriage certificate. I don’t have a marriage certificate with the defendant but we had a customary marriage,” he said.

“If that is a problem, I am prepared to divorce the plaintiff even now. I am no longer happy in our marriage. We have so many problems in our marriage and as a man I could not stay alone. Plaintiff could no longer cook and wash clothes for me,” Christopher said.

On December 18 last year, a protection order was granted against Christopher not to assault, threaten, harass and insult  Ndiweni.

“I am no longer safe in our marriage and the better solution is to divorce so that I can be free,” he said.

Magistrate Kozanai will make a ruling on the matter on December 5.

Ndlovu is represented by lawyer, Thompson Mabhikwa.