Man Denies Paternity Of 7 Children

A HARARE man has stunned a court by denying paternity of his SEVEN children.

Patrick Chiwara is fighting a maintenance claim by his ex-wife, Chiedza Chingozho.
He told magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti at the Civil Court on Monday that Chingozho had openly told him that their second child was not his.

“When the second child was married off, I never got anything. She [Chingozho] told me I was not the father and she spent the money with another man,” Chiwara said.

“I now doubt if I am the father of the seven children that this woman gave birth to when I lived with her because of what she confessed to me.”

But Chingozho, who is claiming $410 per month in maintenance, said: “I got married when I was only 13-years-old and he is the only man I ever slept with.

“I was a virgin when I met him so for him to deny paternity of the children is an insult to me.”

Chiwara said when they divorced, he carried on supporting his family just as he had done before.

“I bought a stand in Stoneridge and that is where my former wife is residing with some of the children.”
But Chingozho insisted that Chiwara was not supporting their two dependent children despite earning US$600 monthly from his job with an unnamed Chinese company.

Zimbabwe does not have DNA testing facilities and the burden to prove paternity usually falls on the individual being sued for maintenance. Most men settle at this stage, but those who can raise US$500 can send samples to South African DNA labs through a court-approved system.

Magistrate Muchuchuti is expected to rule on the maintenance case this week.

Posted by Editor on May 8, 2013. Filed under WEIRD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry