The Sunday Mail
Lisa Mandewo
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” This Scripture now makes sense for a Harare man who was arrested for assaulting his wife for asking him to thank her sister for settling the couple’s rental bill.
Instead of a simple “thank you”, Fidelis Matimba (23) of Budiriro 1, Harare, will now pay a $60 fine or spend 20 days in prison for domestic violence. According to court records, Matimba and his wife, Regina Sande, struggled to pay two months’ rentals, and Sande’s sister offered assistance.
On December 18, 2017, Sande informed him of this good gesture, asking him to thank his sister-in-law. However, he refused, saying that doing so would bruise his ego. Sande retired for the night and Matimba followed to unleash terror, booting his missus in the stomach and slapping her.
Sande made a police report, leading to his arrest. Appearing before Mbare magistrate Mrs Isabel Nyoni last week, Matimba pleaded guilty to domestic violence, telling the court that saying “thank you” would have hurt his pride.
Sande said: “I wanted him to say ‘thank you’ so that my sister won’t hesitate helping us when we need help again. But he took it the other way.” Mr Vincent Chikerema prosecuted.
