VICE-PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife,
Marry, has revealed that the retired army general harbours an ambition to take
over the presidency.
Marry said the collapse of the couple’s nine-year customary
marriage was brought about by Chiwenga’s alleged paranoia, poor health and the
influence of “heavy doses of drugs”.
Marry made the remarks in her claim in reconvention in
response to Chiwenga’s application for divorce last month. The matter is still
pending in the High Court.
“Defendant (Marry) avers in reconvention that the demise of
the customary law union was brought about by plaintiff’s (Chiwenga) acute
paranoia brought about by poor health, his being under heavy doses of drugs
including un-prescribed opiates, his surrounding himself with persons who want
to take advantage of him and his belief that his ascendency to the position of
presidency might be in jeopardy,” Marry said in her claim.
Ironically, in his response to Marry’s urgent application
for custody of the pair’s three children, Chiwenga also accused his wife of
being a “drug addict”.
But in her response, Marry dismissed the claims, saying she
was a better, healthy parent as opposed to the Vice-President.
“Defendant denies that she is a drug addict and pleads that
the children were under her exclusive care for long periods of time without any
adverse consequences on them and it is denied that the children’s best
interests would be served by custody being awarded to a sickly absentee parent
who is more in hospital than out,” Marry said.
Turning to the issue of the couple’s assets, Marry claimed
that Chiwenga had all his assets registered in his relatives’ names in an
effort to avoid sanctions that were imposed on him by the United States
government.
“Defendant pleads that all assets acquired during the
subsistence of the marriage were acquired with the full knowledge and
participation of the plaintiff, whose name could not be used and who, on advice
from the bank, procured his relatives to assist in the acquisition of the
assets on the basis that plaintiff’s name could not be used as he was on the
sanctions list,” Marry said.
“Defendant further pleads that all the monies used to
acquire assets were availed by the plaintiff from some of his business partners
and that the amnesia he has developed is part of the contrived criminal
proceedings against her.”
Marry further dismissed claims that her marriage with
Chiwenga was terminated through the production of a divorce token, saying she
did not accept the token as it had been paid in foreign currency.
“The defendant further claims in reconvention that the plaintiff
has failed to follow proper customary law procedures to end the customary
marriage and that, instead, plaintiff sent (Anselem) Sanyatwe to give her a
United States dollar bill which she declined to accept on the basis that it is
unlawful in Zimbabwe to transact in United States dollars and that it was (up
to) the plaintiff to give her gupuro (divorce token) after following all proper
customary protocol. Consequently, the customary marriage continues to subsist,”
she said.
Marry said she was claiming the equivalent of US$40 000 per
month as maintenance from the retired army general for her upkeep and a total
of US$7 500 per month for her three children, which money she
said should be paid at the interbank rate.
“Defendant claims in reconvention maintenance for the three
minor children, the equivalent of US$2 500 calculated at the interbank rate
prevailing on the date of payment until each child attains the age of majority
or becomes self-supporting … defendant claims in reconvention personal maintenance
in an amount equivalent to US$40 000 per month payable in Zimbabwe dollars
calculated at the interbank rate prevailing on the date of payment until her
death or remarriage,” she said.
Besides the claim of monthly maintenance, Marry also said
her VP husband should be ordered to pay for the family’s holidays, school and
medical expenses and casual clothes all running into thousands of United States
dollars.
“The plaintiff must pay the entire school account in
respect of each child at a Catholic school, including school fees, levies,
top-ups, costs of extra lessons, costs of all extra-curricular activities,
costs of school and sports uniforms, sports equipment and all other
school-related costs,” she said.
“That plaintiff pays for the defendant and her children
annual holidays; one fully expensed international holiday per annum at a
five-star facility inclusive of spending money of not less than the equivalent
of US$25 000, one fully expensed regional holiday per annum at a five-star
facility inclusive of spending money of not less than the equivalent of US$15
000, one fully expensed local holiday per annum and spending money of not less
than US$25 000 per person.”
Besides all the monthly claims, Marry also demanded that
her husband compensates her for the injuries she sustained during a bomb
explosion at a Zanu PF rally in Bulawayo before the 2018 general elections.
“That the plaintiff pays the defendant’s cost for
reconstructive surgery and all other medically associated costs arising from
the injuries she suffered from a bomb blast in Bulawayo while she accompanied
plaintiff on his party activities and that the plaintiff provides the defendant
with an internationally recognised medical aid cover until her death,” she
said, urging the court not to entertain Chiwenga’s application on the basis
that he approached the court with dirty hands.
“Plaintiff has already purportedly awarded himself custody
of the children and is in contempt of the law. The pending action that he has
come to court with, with dirty hands, ought not to be heard until he has purged
his various contempts,” she said. Newsday
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