A Mutare man says spending much of his time praying in the mountains cost him his marriage.
Albert Muponda believes that his faith failed to save his
marriage as his wife, Grace Mavhera, could not tolerate his endless prayers in
the mountains.
However, Mavhera said she opted out of the marriage for
health reasons as Muponda was barring her from seeking medical attention.
This emerged at the Mutare Civil Court as Muponda was
applying for a protection order against his ex-wife, Grace Mavhera, and his
sister-in-law, Beauty Mavhera.
The parties appeared before Mutare magistrate, Mr Xavier
Chipato.
Muponda stated that Grace left him as she could not
tolerate the way he prays.
“We were married for two years. When I took her as my wife,
l knew that she could easily be manipulated by other people. She begged me to
help her develop a closer relationship with God. However, her decision to leave
me might have been influenced by her friends,” said Muponda.
He said Grace and Beauty are in the habit of harassing and
intimidating his new wife.
“They came to my house threatening to assault my new wife.
We are now living in fear. I have moved on and I do not want to see her at my
place of residence,” he said.
Muponda also claimed that the two sisters threatened to
abduct him during his prayer sessions in the mountains.
“I am now afraid to go for my usual prayers in the
mountains as they threatened to kidnap me,” said Muponda. He added that it only
took Grace two days to move in with another man after she left her matrimonial
home.
“What kind of a woman moves in with another man two days
after ending another relationship? This shows that she was using my house as
her love nest while I was busy with my prayers,” said Muponda.
He also said Grace did not disclose her HIV status to him.
“She would leave her medication at her friend’s house. I
later discovered the ARVs in our house. I do not know what made her leave them
home that day,” said Muponda.
In response, Grace said Muponda is spreading false
allegations against her.
She also said she left her personal belongings at Muponda’s
house and he is refusing to surrender them to her.
Grace said she opted out of the marriage due to Muponda’s
abusiveness.
“He would not allow me to go to the clinic. I started
feeling weak in 2020 and was unable to work. I told my husband that I was not
feeling well, but he said he would pray for me. I told my sister and she gave
me money to go to the clinic. That’s when I tested HIV positive. I started
taking my medication,” said Grace.
“I was afraid to disclose my status to my husband as he had
barred me from visiting the hospital. I had to leave my medication at my
sister’s house where I would secretly take it. One day I gathered enough
courage to let the cat out of the bag so that we could be on medication
together as a couple, but he fumed and assaulted me.
“I had to leave my marriage because my health matters most.
If his beliefs bar him from seeking medical attention, then he should stay like
that alone,” she said.
Her sister, Beauty, chipped in: “I warned my sister not to
marry this man but she spurned my advice. Now look where this has landed us.”
Mr Chipato granted the protection order in Muponda’s
favour.
The order is valid for five years. Manica Post
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