The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa Weekender Correspondent
A JOBLESS carpenter was left speechless after his ex-wife demanded $660 as monthly maintenance in court.Mavis Mhembere was claiming $660 maintenance from the unemployed Taurai Chaitezvi whom she claimed had a registered carpentry company.
She described him as a negligent father who earned over $1 000 monthly, but took the upkeep of his minor children for granted.
In her maintenance breakdown, Mhembere said she wanted $300 for her three children’s school fees, $50 for their medication, $70 for their food and the rest for clothing and bills.
“This man is financially stable and gets over $1 000 per month. I even had the paperwork for his company, but he forcibly took them away. He usually gets carpentry contracts from big companies and institutions such as Africa University and Hillcrest Group of Schools, but completely ignores his children’s welfare,” she begged the court for the maintenance.
Chaitezvi, however, told the court that the said company, Taures Construction was only a trade name that he had registered with the National Employment Council.
He said he did not own any company and was not employed, hence he could not afford the said amount as he was only getting $60 per month as his earnings.
Nevertheless, Chaitezvi offered to pay $300 school fees for his children on a term basis and $90 towards their daily upkeep even though he had stated that he was earning only $60, leaving the court unsatisfied.
Mutare magistrate, Mr Poterai Gwezhira presided over the matter.
“Your Worship, I am an unemployed person who, however, is academically trained as a carpenter. The company that she is talking about is not a real company and it will need an educated person to understand.
“It is a trade name that I registered with the National Employment Council so that I become a legal carpenter and get legal contracts which, however, are not easy to get these days,” he said.
Mr Gwezhira ordered Mhembere to go and get proof that Chaitezvi had a company that gets contracts from the said big institutions.
The matter was adjourned to today (Friday) for his ruling.
