A Gweru woman shocked the court when she said that she wanted her former husband to pay maintenance for their dead child.
Mazvita Chinyoka who is a former wife to Givemore Shekede of Mtapa in Gweru told the court that he was ordered to pay $300 for the upkeep of their two children in 2013 but the younger one passed away in January 2014.
“He was ordered to pay $300 for the upkeep of our two children but the youngest passed away in January 2014. Shekede started paying $200 instead of $300 for the two children. When our younger child passed away we decided to have another one and I gave birth to our daughter. He must pay for the deceased child’s maintenance according to the court order,” said Chinyoka.
Shekede, 45, was found not guilty of one count of default in maintenance by Senior Magistrate Tayengwa Chibanda. In passing sentence, Chibanda said that the state had failed to prove that Shekede had failed to pay maintenance. He said it was no longer appropriate for him to continue paying maintenance for the deceased child.