Woman challenges Chief Negomo’s lobola ruling

Comment & Analysis
MUREWA — A Murewa woman has dragged Chief Luscious Chitsinde Negomo to the magistrate courts challenging him over a judgement he passed that forced her to pay lobola for her son.

MUREWA — A Murewa woman has dragged Chief Luscious Chitsinde Negomo to the magistrate courts challenging him over a judgement he passed that forced her to pay lobola for her son.

Report by Moses Chibaya The case will be heard at Murewa magistrate’s courts this week. Angel Gatakata is demanding back her livestock that were attached by Chief Negomo’s messenger as part of lobola for her son, Prosper Gatakata.

  Prosper married Wonder Marara’s daughter, Maggie, and the two have been living together for the past eight years but had not paid the bride price.

  Miffed that Prosper was enjoying conjugal rights with his daughter without paying a single cent, Marara reported the case to the chief.

  Chief Negomo on October 28 2011 ordered his messenger to attach five cattle and three goats from Gatakata’s family as lobola to the Marara family.

  “To pay lobola 4 x bovines (cattle) for Danga, 1 x bovine for Umai, Gwiro US$60, Masungiro 7 metre cloth plus US$45 on top, 1 blanket plus US$25 on top,” reads the judgement passed by Chief Negomo at his community court. But Gatakata argues that the livestock that was taken belongs to her and not Prosper, who is an adult.

  She said the goats that were taken were paid to her as lobola (Masungiro) for a married daughter, so it was culturally a taboo for them to be used as bride price for her son.

  “The chief’s messenger attached my five beasts, three goats in a matter involving my son Prosper Gatakata who is a major,” read the court papers filed by Gatakata. “My property has nothing to do with this case because the beasts are my personal property.”

  University of Zimbabwe English lecturer, Memory Chirere, who is an author of English and Shona novels, said livestock belonging to a mother could not be used to pay lobola for a son, as it was culturally wrong.

  “As far as I know, that’s a taboo in our culture. It’s wrong, you cannot use your mother’s livestock to pay lobola,” said Chirere.

  But Ignatius Mabasa, another author, said it was not surprising because things were changing.

  “Things are changing. People are now going to church. It depends with one’s background, so people are practically diverting from certain things in our culture,” Mabasa said.