In a harrowing tale of betrayal, Tawanda Makwiramiti from Harare woke up to the devastating revelation that his in-laws allegedly deceived him by marrying off his wife, Rejoice Nheta, to another man, Laurence Alexander Muzah, behind his back.
Tawanda, recounting the sequence of events to B-Metro, revealed that he fulfilled the lobola payment for Rejoice on 23 January 2021, only to face a stipulation from the bride’s father, demanding that he not live with Rejoice until he finished lobola, citing her virginity.
Despite paying US$1,600 for lobola and an additional US$500 for groceries, her parents refused to allow Tawanda to take his wife, claiming the money was insufficient. It took him six months to raise another US$820, paid on 1 August 2021, before they allowed him to take Rejoice.
However, she stayed with Tawanda for only five days, refusing intimacy and eventually leaving for Bulawayo. Tawanda later discovered that Rejoice had been engaged to another man, and she had already been married off to him without issuing a divorce token.
Tawanda’s attempts to seek answers and a lobola refund were met with resistance and threats from Rejoice’s family. Rejoice applied for a protection order against Tawanda, barring communication.
Rejoice’s father, Norman Nheta, neither confirmed nor denied Tawanda’s claims, suggesting that Tawanda refused to accept the relationship’s end. Muzah, the alleged new husband, denied knowledge of the situation, while his mother confirmed the incident, stating that Tawanda interrupted lobola negotiations.
Tawanda has filed papers at the Harare Civil Court, suing Rejoice’s father for reimbursement. The case unfolds as a heart-wrenching saga of love, deception, and legal battles.- state media/B Metro
