A Zimbabwean man based in Durban, South Africa, has taken his late girlfriend’s family to Chief Mutasa’s community court, demanding US$11,000 in compensation.
Tonderai Nyambudzi claims he spent years raising and educating his biological son, only for the child to be taken back by his maternal relatives.
Nyambudzi told the court he had invested heavily in the boy’s upbringing and education, believing he was securing his son’s future, before the Machekanzombe family reclaimed the child on customary grounds.
He said the dispute started several years ago when his girlfriend fell pregnant while he was preparing to formalise their relationship through customary marriage.
“While I was paying bride price, a spirit manifested through one of her relatives and declared that she was not supposed to get married,” said Nymbudzi.
“I was told I could only take my child after she had given birth, so I left her at her family’s home during the pregnancy.”
When the woman later died, she left the child in the care of her relatives.
Nyambudzi said when he later tried to take custody, the family told him he had to pay ‘chiredzwa’ – also known as ‘maredzwa’ – before they could release the child.
He said he paid R15,000, about US$800 at the time. The boy was then in Grade Four.
After getting custody, he said he took full responsibility for the child’s school fees, upkeep and general welfare.
But years later, he claims, the Machekanzombe family took the child back, arguing the boy did not belong to him but to a family spirit.
According to Nyambudzi, the family claimed a member of the Machekanzombe family had once killed someone, and that the deceased person’s spirit had later been symbolically married to the child’s mother. On that basis, they argued the child belonged to that spirit’s lineage.
Nyambudzi said the family refunded the US$800 he had paid as ‘maredzwa’, but that falls far short of what he spent over the years. He is now seeking US$11,000 as compensation for raising and educating the child.
However, a representative of the Machekanzombe family, Danai Machekanzombe, disputed his version and said the matter had already been dealt with by the same court earlier this year.
He said Nyambudzi appeared before Chief Mutasa in February and told the court he no longer wanted to keep the child.
“His position before this court was clear. He said he no longer wanted the child and that what he wanted was a refund of the money he had paid as ‘maredzwa’. We sourced the money and refunded him in March. We are therefore surprised that he has returned demanding US$11,000,” Machekanzombe said.
He said the family then took the child back as they felt responsible for him, and rejected the compensation claim, arguing Nyambudzi had voluntarily given up the child and only asked for his ‘maredzwa’ money back.
After hearing both sides, Chief Mutasa said the financial claim would need to be properly verified before a decision could be made.
He advised Nyambudzi to take the matter to the Small Claims Court, where evidence of his spending could be examined independently.
He also suggested that, depending on the outcome, the child himself, as the beneficiary of the education and support, could potentially help settle any amount that might be found to be due.
More: The Manica Post
