A man has won US$5000 in damages after the High Court convicted his wife, who married two husbands in 2022.
Man Wins US$5000 Damages After Wife Married Two Husbands
The court granted Cloudio Jume US$5,000 in a case involving his wife, Thelmah Guvakumwe, who was convicted of bigamy in 2022 for marrying two husbands. Initially seeking US$50,000 for loss of consortium and conjugal rights, plus an additional US$50,000 for contumelia, Cloudio claimed that his reputation suffered, his privacy was violated, and his dignity was lost.
However, Justice Emilia Muchawa dismissed the claim for loss of consortium, citing that Cloudio no longer had any love for Guvakumwe. H-Metro reports that Thelmah was convicted in December 2022 for marrying her neighbour, Elton Sanyamahwe, and having a child with him while still married to Cloudio. Sanyamahwe knew about the existing marriage but engaged in an adulterous relationship with Thelmah.
The court ordered her to perform 105 hours of community service at Warren Park 1 Primary School. The court also revealed that Cloudio had a history of divorcing or separating from up to three other women, portraying him as a philandering man. Additionally, Sanyamahwe was found to be dishonest in denying paternity of the child.
The Ill-Fated Marriage
Cloudio and Thelmah married in March 2014 and formalised their union in September 2017. The marriage was dissolved in March 2022 when Cloudio discovered the adulterous affair.
Justice Muchawa established that Thelmah was still married to Cloudio in September 2021 when she began an intimate relationship with Sanyamahwe. Thelmah claimed to have met Sanyamahwe at a bar after her breakup, drugged him, and then became intimate.
Sanyamahwe, on the other hand, claimed to have been raped after a night out, waking up naked in a bar. Cloudio was misled about his wife’s whereabouts, believing she had secured a job in Chegutu while she was actually with Sanyamahwe.
Examining the evidence, Justice Muchawa noted:
“The totality of the evidence, however, shows that Jume was a philandering man who was married to a woman 24 years his junior, who was one in a row of up to three others whom he had divorced or separated from. He even boasted that married men go out for a good time with many other women, and it is okay.
“It only becomes a problem when the women do likewise. Sanyamahwe is alleged to have been boasting that Jume’s wife had left him because of his small manhood, and he was better able to satisfy her. He was alleged not to be remorseful.”-iharare
