Man denies $54 400 maintenance debt

….claims to have paid the money to his ex wife’s mother via Eco-cash

Shakespeare Muzavazi

A Shurugwi man who recently had been arraigned before a local court  for willingly defaulting to pay maintenance in the sum of  $54 400 denied the accusation arguing that he had been religiously paying for his children’s support through his mother in law’s eco-cash account.

Innocent Tshuma (39) appeared before Shurugwi magistrate Sangster Tavengwa for contravening section 23 (1) of the Maintenance Act Chapter 5:09 failure to pay maintenance.

The accused allegedly stopped maintaining his two children for a period extending from the 22^nd of September 2009 to the 16^th of May 2017.

In his defense the Tshuma argued that he had been religiously remitting his maintenance bills.

I have always paid maintenance to the complainant (Moilah Tshuma) I was always paying maintenance to the garnish Savannah Tobacco then I lost employed and I was now paying via Eco-cash to her mother who always stayed with the children since the complainant remarried in 2010.

However Tshuma failed to produce proof of his maintenance payment.

The accused was ordered to pay maintenance in the Sum of $800 every month effect from the  22^nd  of September 2017 into his wife’s  account to maintain his two children.