A MUTAMBARA man is accusing his estranged wife of tricking him into having a second child after lying that she was taking contraceptive pills.
Patience Fungai and Brian Zambura have since parted ways due to the matter.
The couple appeared before Mutare magistrate, Mr Lazarus Murendo as Fungai was applying for a maintenance review from $20 to $3 500.
Zambura offered to pay $400 for his two minor children but Mr Murendo castigated him for the paltry offer.
“When a man sires children, he should be prepared to look after them. There is no pleasure without responsibility. Be prepared to carry the cross. Since the court is the upper guardian of all children, it will ensure that the kids get a reasonable amount to survive,” said Mr Murendo.
In his defence, Zamunda accused Fungai of being a trickster. He claimed that Fungai tricked him into having another child in an attempt to save their marriage. However, the marriage collapsed as soon as Fungai conceived.
“She deceived me. The baby she is holding was not planned and that is the main reason why we broke up for good. I did not want a second child with her and she told me that she was taking some birth control pills.
“In fact, everyday I would see her taking some pills daily. She lied to me that they were family planning pills,” fumed Zambura.
Fungai also got the shock of her life when Zambura told the court that he was not a qualified teacher as she had thought, hence he could not afford to pay the $3 500 applied for.
He told the court that he is contracted as a tutor for extra lessons by school development committees and not by the Public Service Commission.
Zamunda was ordered to pay $1 800 every month for the upkeep of his two minor children.