The Sunday News
Marvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
A 40-YEAR-OLD woman is living in fear of her abusive husband who has been threatening to kill her before he commits suicide after discovering he was HIV positive.
Mrs Khethiwe Ncube (40), of Bengo area under Chief Marupi, told Gwanda magistrate Mr Arafat Kozanai that she needed a protection order against her husband of 23 years, Mr Ezekiel Ncube, as he always threatened her with death over trivial issues.
“All the problems started when he tested HIV positive. He blamed me for having infected him with the virus but surprisingly, I tested negative.
“We don’t have children together and he has been accusing me of being barren and calls me all sorts of names.
“We encounter domestic disputes and in December last year he assaulted me with a stick all over the body. I now fear that he might act on his threats that he will kill me.
“He said after killing me he would commit suicide so that no one would know what would have happened,” said Mrs Ncube.
She said she struggled to convince her husband on the need to use protection during sexual intercourse since he was HIV positive.
“One time when he agreed to use a condom, it burst during sexual intercourse but he tried to hide it and even refused to show me the broken condom,” Mrs Ncube.
Although the husband denied the allegations, the magistrate said he was convinced that the applicant needed a protection order.
“Infecting another person with HIV deliberately is a grave offence, you can go up to 10 years in prison for that, so be warned.
“You might be legally married but you have to understand that your wife has a right of choice, whether she wants to have sexual intercourse with you with protection or without,” he told the husband.
Mr Kozanai said Ezekiel should stop assaulting, insulting and threatening his wife.
He also urged the two to seek counselling from family members to solve their problems and told Ezekiel that by committing suicide he would not have solved any problem.
