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Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
A Victoria Falls woman told her husband in court that she would rather get a divorce than stop gossiping with her friends. The woman is nursing a swollen eye after her husband punched her repeatedly for tittle-tattling with neighbours. Takudzwa Mapfumo, 28, of Mkhosana, was treated at Victoria Falls Hospital and told the court her left eye needs to be medically cleaned.

She told Victoria Falls magistrate Sharon Rosemani that she did not want her husband, Dumisani Ndlovu, 30, to go to prison but she just wanted him to foot her medical bill.

“I do not think we can continue staying together. We fought over a phone call I received from a woman who is our neighbour called NaBlessing. He always says he doesn’t want me to talk to her. I think if we continue together, he can do something worse than this and even kill me. I cannot be forced to abandon my friends. We will talk about this but we have to separate,” she said.

Outside court, Mapfumo was joined by a group of her friends who celebrated that she acted as an independent woman who did not take orders from a man.

The group threatened to deal with the news crew for taking pictures.
Mapfumo told the court her husband had never beaten her before, adding she was actually shocked when he punched her three times on the face injuring her eye.

Ndlovu pleaded guilty to physical abuse.
He told the court he had warned his wife not to entertain errant friends, referring to NaBlessing as being of negative influence.

“I told her that I did not want her to hang around with such women as NaBlessing and she knows why,” said Ndlovu in his defence.
The magistrate convicted him of the crime and sentenced him to two months in jail which were wholly suspended on condition he completes 70 hours of community service at the Victoria Falls magistrate’s court.

In addition Ndlovu was sentenced to one month in jail which was suspended on condition he reimburses his wife $40 for medical expenses.
Prosecuting, Listen Nare said on September 6, at around 9PM Ndlovu told his wife to stop talking to her friends whom he labelled as bad influences.

The court heard that Mapfumo then phoned NaBlessing and told her not to phone her again as she was causing problems in her marriage.
“The accused told the complainant that her phone calls were irritating him and started beating her,” said the prosecutor.

She went to hospital with a swollen left eye and was advised to report to the police before she could be treated, hence Ndlovu’s arrest.