Pay maintenance arrears or go to prison: Shurugwi man ordered

By Kelvin Kasiwulaya

A Shurugwi man who had spent six months neglecting his two children by defaulting to pay maintenance is facing the wrath of the law after the court gave him an option to clear his arrears or languish in prison for six months.

Panashe Carlos Tengende appeared before Shurugwi resident Magistrate Sangster Tavengwa facing charges of defaulting to pay maintenance as defined in section 23(1) of the Maintenance Act.

It was in the state’s case as presented by Bertha Bore that in the month of June 2016 at Shurugwi civil court; Panashe Carlos Tengende was ordered by a competent court to pay $220, 00 as maintenance for his two children.

Tengende however failed to pay maintenance for a period extending from January 2017 to July 2017 and is in arrears of $1, 320, 00

Airing her concerns in court the complainant Sarati Dhaidayi bemoaned the situation that she is going through with her ex-husband failing to take care of his kids for the past six months.

“Your worship for the past six months I was struggling to fend for our two kids, I never reported that my husband was no longer remitting his maintenance since he always convinced me that he was looking for the money, however my ex husband started exuding uncouth behavior by running away from me and hiding his residential address hence I came to report him,” she said

Shurugwi resident Magistrate Sangster Tavengwa asked Tengende how his children were surviving for the past 5 months without him providing for them.

Passing his sentence, Magistrate Tavengwa slapped Tengende with a six months prison sentence which would be wholly suspended on the condition that the accused clears his $1,320,00 maintenance arrears.