The Sunday News
Kay Kaseke Sunday News Reporter—
A WOMAN from Bulawayo’s Old Luveve suburb was forced to flee her matrimonial home as she could no longer stomach her husband having sex with his second wife on the bed which the trio shared. A Sunday News crew visited the second wife, Margret Phiri, who said she did not mind sharing the story of how she met her married James Mathanire when she was just 17.
Phiri said she knew that he had a wife before she got pregnant and that that did not deter her as she loved him despite his marital status.
“I knew that he had a wife before I got pregnant; I actually knew that from the day we started having an affair,” she said.
She confirmed having shared a bed with her husband and his first wife as “there is nothing unusual about it”.
“We stayed together but his first wife left for her rural home as she could not take it anymore. I stayed but I also moved back to my parent’s house for a while because of the baby,” she said.
She refuted claims that were made by neighbours that she left school to get married at the Baba Johane Masowe sect where she met her husband.
“I left school when I was in Form Three because I just felt like I did not want to go to school anymore, not because my parents wanted me to get married,” she said.
“The sharing of the bedroom is none of my neighbours’ business but if they said so, then they must know that I had nowhere else to sleep but in that room.”
She said that she, her husband and his first wife, known as MaNyathi, were not formally employed hence they could only afford lodgings with not more than one bedroom.
“My husband, myself and MaNyathi are not formally employed. We struggle to make a living that is why we were all living in the same house but she is at her village while I am at my parents’ house,” she said.
One of Phiri’s relatives said when she heard that the other woman had moved out and asked for the reasons, she was horrified to find out that her niece was the reason.
“When I heard they were sharing a bed to consummate their marriage, I thought that was a threesome but I later found out that one of them would watch while the other two consummated their marriage,” she said.
A woman whose son was admitted to Mpilo Hospital where Phiri and her baby were admitted last week, Mrs Sikhululwesiwe Ndlovu, said Phiri’s situation was appalling.
“How can a man share a room with two wives? Not just any room but a bedroom which is supposed to be a sacred place where things are to be private,” she said.
She said Phiri’s situation was a clear indication of how young women were manipulated by older men.
When contacted for comment, Mr Mathanire said the matter was none of anyone’s business as his wives did not find any problems with it and they had stayed together for more than six months.
“There is nothing I can say to you; people should just learn to mind their own business. My wives are happy and we have stayed for more than six months,” he said.
