You don’t reap where you didn’t sow!
A man who denied paternity of his daughter when she was
born suddenly appeared in her life demanding seven head of cattle for her
lobola.
A magistrate put the skid on his shenanigans when she told
him he was not entitled to anything because he had abandoned the girl when she
was born.
Mpilo Ndlovu (65) of Tsholotsho, denied that he was the
father of Flora Mgayo’s daughter in 1991. The couple was customarily married and Ndlovu had paid five
head of cattle as lobola.
Mgayo, of Dakamela area in Nkayi, took Ndlovu to court and
he was ordered to pay maintenance while he made arrangements to do a paternity
test after he denied having fathered the child.
He defied the court and stopped paying maintenance when the
girl was six years old.
He suddenly crawled out of the woodwork when he heard the
girl was getting married, demanding seven beasts.
His justification — he deserved the lion’s share because he
had paid lobola for the bride’s mother and had maintained the girl until she
was six. Ndlovu was livid when he discovered the prospective groom had already
paid four head of cattle and he had been given nothing.
He dragged Mgayo to Maintenance Court demanding his share.
Bulawayo magistrate Nomasiko Ndlovu was shocked by Ndlovu’s
demand.
She noted that according to lobola practice in Ndebele
culture, the five head of cattle which Ndlovu paid to Mgayo’s family were meant
to be lobola for the children Mgayo would bear for him.
Culturally and customarily when he separated with his
former wife he was supposed to return her to her parents without paying lobola.
Further, the court noted that Ndlovu’s hands were dirty
since he did not conduct DNA tests as ordered by the court when he denied being
the father of the girl.
“Ndlovu’s entitlement vanished when he disputed the
paternity of the child,” said magistrate Ndlovu.
The magistrate added: “At that very moment he elected to
dissociate himself from the child he chose to dissociate with the benefits that
came with the child. Ndlovu cannot seek to claim lobola of a child he denied.
Accordingly, the court upholds Mgayo’s appeal. As a result Ndlovu is not
entitled to the share of lobola.”
With heavy feet and egg on his face, Ndlovu left the court
a broken man. B Metro
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