HARARE – A Harare woman has been granted a protection order against her husband, a retired soldier, after she accused him of physically abusing her following an explosive domestic incident in which she allegedly caught him having sex with their housemaid.
Magistrate Johanna Mukwesha of the Harare Civil Court issued the protection order in favour of Beauty Katanha, who took her husband, Goodwill Katanha, to court after enduring what she described as months of threats, intimidation, and physical violence. The abuse, she said, began after she discovered her husband and their maid in a compromising situation.
Testifying before the court, Beauty told the magistrate that the shocking incident took place around midnight in the dining room of their Westlea home. She said she walked in on her husband in the act with their maid, which marked the beginning of an increasingly volatile and dangerous environment in their household.
“My husband slept with our maid in the dining room. I caught them red-handed, and from that day, he started physically abusing me,” she told the court.
According to Beauty, the housemaid fled the scene when she was discovered, but her husband reacted violently. She said he brandished a knife and threatened her, warning her not to speak about what she had witnessed.
Wife Takes Cheating Husband to Court Over Infidelity and Abuse
“He told me no one would believe me. He said I should protect his name and pretend I saw nothing,” she said.
Since then, Beauty claims, the man she once loved has transformed into someone who uses fear and force to silence her. She accused him of labeling her a witch in front of their children and forcing her to leave their matrimonial home. She also revealed that he had begun turning their children against her.
“I have been the one taking care of the family for the past ten years, while he spends his money on girlfriends,” she added.
Beauty said that despite being the main financial provider, she had no access to the US$500 monthly rent collected from tenants living on their property. Her husband, she claimed, kept the money to himself.
The court also heard that their son was being forced to leave the house after witnessing the incident between his father and the maid. The retired soldier reportedly insisted on sleeping in the spare bedroom, bizarrely claiming that his “manhood wouldn’t function” in the matrimonial bed.
In his defense, Goodwill Katanha denied all the accusations, insisting he was being falsely accused and that the claims were an elaborate attempt to destroy his reputation.
“I never slept with the maid. These allegations are meant to tarnish my name,” he told the court.
He claimed that his wife had a boyfriend in Mozambique, where she had spent a year, and that he had abstained from intimacy with her since discovering the alleged affair. Goodwill further argued that he had withdrawn from family matters long before the situation escalated and dismissed the abuse claims as fabrications.
“My military background is now being used against me to stir fear and suspicion. There is no proof that I ever threatened or assaulted anyone,” he said, calling for what he termed a fair and impartial investigation into the matter.
The retired soldier also warned his wife not to harass the housemaid, declaring that he would step in to defend her, as he believed the maid was innocent of any wrongdoing.
The court session became heated as the couple exchanged verbal blows, revealing that their marital problems had been simmering under the surface for more than four years. Both accused the other of being unfaithful and responsible for the breakdown of their marriage.
After reviewing the evidence and hearing both sides, Magistrate Mukwesha granted the protection order to Beauty, barring her husband from harassing or abusing her in any form.
The ruling marks a significant step in what appears to be a deeply troubled marriage marred by betrayal, mistrust, and unresolved conflict. The case has shed light on the hidden struggles faced by many couples and the emotional turmoil that can unfold behind closed doors.
Source- Heraldonline
