FURIOUS IN-LAWS CAN’T STOMACH BREAK UP AS HUSBAND IS LOCKED UP AND BASHED FOR DUMPING WIFE… ORDERED TO PAY 2 BEASTS OR US$800 FOR TERMINATING MARRIAGE

Love can be a battlefield, but for a Bulawayo man Exevia Sibanda, it became a literal one.

 

He went to his in-laws’ home seeking closure, hoping to formally end his marriage.

 

Instead, he found himself locked in a room, being the target of their fury, emerging bloodied and with an injured leg – the price, it seemed, for abruptly ending his relationship with their daughter Sibusisiwe Dube.

 

Sibanda recounted the events at the Bulawayo Civil Court before provincial magistrate Shepherd Mnjanja.

 

“We held talks with my in-laws at their family home in Cowdray Park last week and I told them I wanted to end the marriage,” he said.

 

“They told me I had to pay two cows or US$800 to officially terminate the marriage.

 

“Just as we finished discussing this, one of my wife’s brothers accused me of ‘using’ Sibusisiwe and dumping her. They dragged me into a room, where they indiscriminately kicked and punched me. I was injured on the head and leg, and I bled profusely.”

 

Sibanda said he reported the matter to the police, which led to his wife’s arrest. He stated that she pleaded with him to withdraw the charges, and he complied.

 

Unfortunately, according to Sibanda, his wife did not reform, forcing him to leave their matrimonial home and live in a city flat.

 

Dube then devised a plan to meet with him almost daily by renting a room in the apartment next to Sibanda’s.

 

“She comes to my home unannounced and hurls insults at me, and beats me up for leaving her,” he said.

 

“I am applying for a peace order to prevent her from coming to my home and assaulting me.”

 

Sibanda revealed that his wife insults and beats him during arguments. He stated that he has tried numerous times to talk to her, but his efforts have been unsuccessful.

 

“I have tried to talk to her to resolve our marital problems, but she doesn’t listen, let alone respect me. She gets angry and hurls insults at me, and slaps me or hits me with anything she can get her hands on,” he said.

 

He added, “When she is angry, she destroys property at home.”

 

Dube took the stand and said, “He is still my husband. In the middle of the night, he sneaks into my room and sleeps with me.”

 

She denied ever participating in the assault on Sibanda at her family home.

 

“He was beaten by my sister, my younger brother, and other relatives,” she said.

 

She blamed the breakdown of their marriage on her in-laws.

 

“He is not man enough and could not make decisions in our marriage,” she said. “His sisters were the ones running our marriage, and they influenced him to leave me.”

 

The magistrate granted Sibanda a protection order. Dube was ordered not to verbally or physically abuse Sibanda.

 

She was also barred from going to his residence. The order is valid for five years. *_-B-Metro_*