A marriage dispute has taken a dramatic turn after a Chikanga man accused his wife of secretly staying at the home of a well-known Bocha traditional healer, allegations she denies, insisting she sought spiritual help to save their troubled marriage.
The matter came before Chief Mutasa’s community court on Saturday, where Ezra Chibvuri sought the traditional leader’s intervention following the breakdown of his marriage to Linet Makunike.
Chibvuri told the court that his wife repeatedly disappeared from their matrimonial home for days without explanation before eventually leaving the marriage altogether.
He said his suspicions began when Makunike claimed she was travelling to Bocha to care for her sick mother. Trusting her explanation, he allowed her to go and remained in contact with her by phone throughout the five-day trip.
However, he said doubts emerged after she later disappeared again for several days without informing him of her whereabouts.
“I believed what she had told me because she kept updating me while she was away. At that stage, I had no reason to doubt her,” Chibvuri told the court.
He said his concerns deepened after the couple searched for alternative accommodation and Makunike travelled alone to secure a new house because he was unable to accompany her.
According to Chibvuri, her behaviour upon returning home was unusual.
“I was surprised when she immediately took a bath using cold water, something she had never done before. It was completely out of character and it left me wondering whether something unusual had happened,” he said.
He further alleged that shortly afterwards she left home again without informing him where she was going.
Chibvuri claimed he attempted to follow her but she fled after noticing him, leaving behind a bag which he alleged contained traditional charms.
When she failed to return, he reported her missing to the police and informed both families.
“I contacted her parents hoping they knew where she was, but both denied having seen her. That is when I realised that something was seriously wrong,” he said.
Chibvuri said he later travelled to Bocha with some of Makunike’s relatives, only to discover that her mother had never been ill and had not hosted her daughter during the period she claimed to have been there.
“That revelation completely changed my understanding of everything because the explanation I had trusted turned out not to be true,” he said.
He further testified that after tracing a telephone number used by his wife, he travelled with one of her brothers to Bezel Bridge, where they were directed to the homestead of a popular traditional healer, Sekuru Chaburuka.
