The Sunday News
HWANGE district administrator Mr Tapera Mugoriya, who is embroiled in a messy divorce, caused a scene in the coal mining town after he allegedly kicked out his wife Ms Patience Kashiri to make way for his new flame, Ms Linda Tendai Kampinya.
Mr Mugoriya, who made the headlines after being assaulted by his girlfriend’s ex-husband last year, threw out his estranged wife of four years after she caught him being intimate with his new girlfriend in the spare bedroom.
The girlfriend, Ms Kampinya, is a member of United Family International Church (UFIC) in Harare while Mr Mugoriya is a leader at the Hwange branch.
According to sources close to the developments, on Monday, Mr Mugoriya returned home at around 5am in the company of a woman. They proceeded to the spare bedroom where they slept. Ms Kashiri, who was awakened by the noise of the two lovebirds, confronted Mr Mugoriya to inquire what he was doing with another woman.
“The response she got from Mugoriya, who told her that it was none of her business, irked her resulting in her forcibly entering the room where Mugoriya’s girlfriend was. A fight broke out between the two as Mugoriya teamed up with his girlfriend to drag her out of the house.
That is when she lunged for his girlfriend and the two began to fight and were only restrained by neighbours who were awoken by the disturbances,” said a witness who refused to be named.
A family friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told this paper that relations between the two took a twist following Mr Mugoriya’s beating by his girlfriend’s ex-husband.
“This is very embarrassing indeed, considering that Mugoriya is a leader at UFIC and after his conduct in Lukosi, where he was beaten, one would expect him to change but this was not the case. His wife was always crying as he was abusing her whenever she tried to inquire on his numerous affairs. The pastors, who managed to cover up for the Lukosi incident allowing him to remain a leader in church, failed to control his appetite for women leading to the current situation where he had to kick out Kashiri to pave way for Linda,” she said.
She revealed that Mugoriya was not new to such scandals after he abandoned his wife with whom he has three children for Ms Kashiri whom he met during a national census workshop in Bulawayo while stationed in Binga in 2012.
When the Sunday News crew arrived at house number 1 Government Hill, Ms Kashiri’s property which included a fridge, four plate stove, blankets, kitchen utensils and other items could be seen strewn outside. From time to time, neighbours had running battles with baboons which would displace the items in the hope of finding food.
According to documents seen by this reporter on 21 May this year, Mr Mugoriya applied for a protection and eviction order against his estranged wife, citing that their relationship had broken down and that Ms Kashiri was physically abusing him. In his affidavit, Mr Mugoriya stated that he was never married to Ms Kashiri but she was a live-in girlfriend.
“I’m the applicant of the protection and eviction order, I have had a live-in relationship with respondent and did not get married to her during our stay. The relationship became irretrievably broken resulting in the need to separate,” said Mr Mugoriya.
He added that Ms Kashiri had violent and suicidal tendencies which he felt were becoming a danger to the couple.
On the contrary, Ms Kashiri stated that Mr Mugoriya was the one abusing her physically and emotionally as a result of his affairs, a situation that resulted in her miscarrying at eight months.
“Respondent and applicant have been staying together as husband and wife since June 2012. Respondent and applicant were staying together without any problem until April 2013 when the two had an altercation over a woman whom applicant was found with in Lukosi. The same woman would be brought to the house when respondent had gone to buy her wares in South Africa. However, this issue was resolved amicably until applicant began to have mood swings where he would verbally abuse respondent even over the slightest issue,” Ms Kashiri’s affidavit reads.
Ms Kashiri said Mr Mugoriya would refuse to buy food even during the time she was pregnant forcing her to survive on selling her wares at giveaway prices.
“Even during this period applicant would abuse her emotionally, he would come home late and when respondent tried to inquire where applicant was he would tell her there was nothing special about respondent as he had jilted some women with whom he had children.
“Applicant had been insisting on respondent to leave which she was resisting. On the contrary applicant has been abusing her physically, emotionally and psychologically since he started having this other girlfriend.
“Respondent, who was eight months pregnant in April 2014 for applicant lost her baby because of blood pressure which had gone high due to the emotional and psychological trauma she had suffered from the applicant,” read part of her affidavit.
The court ruled in favour of Mr Mugoriya and ordered Ms Kashiri to vacate the house and to stay away from the DA’s complex.
“Dual order is granted both parties to be bound by to keep peace towards each other. To desist from physically and verbally abusing each other; not to proceed to applicant’s workplace DA’s Complex and hereby ordered to vacate No 1 Government Hill, Hwange and applicant to cater for moving expenses,” read part of the judgment.
