A BULAWAYO man has sensationally filed a Z$20 billion lawsuit against a prominent cleric and critic of President Robert Mugabe, accusing him of having an illicit affair with his wife.Onesimus Sibanda accuses Catholic Archbishop Pius Alick Mvundla Ncube of having an adulterous affair with his wife, Rosemary, and has demanded compensation for “emotional pain”.
Last night, Zimbabwe-state run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) showed footage of Rosemary’s "confession”. A reporter was seen asking if “you used condoms”, to which she said they did.
Another shot showed the ZBC’s chief reporter Reuben Barwe being turned away from the Vatican’s Zimbabwean office where he had gone to seek comment over the alleged scandal.
If proved, the allegations threaten to ruin the reputation of one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent public figures and leading critic of President Mugabe.
Last night, Ncube’s friends rallied around him, accusing Zimbabwe’s intelligence services of a hatchet job.
“They have tried all tricks in the past to break him down. He was once said to have a secret child, but of course that was a lie, just as this latest stitch up,” a friend of the archbishop who asked not to be identified said.
Ncube, who could not be reached last night, was shown on the ZBC’s Nesnight programme apparently refusing to confirm or deny the claims. A brief clip showed him saying “everyone has sinned”, but adding that he was not confirming the affair.
Sibanda’s lawyer, Munyaradzi Nzarayapenga of Dube-Banda, Nzarayapenga and Partners, released a terse media statement in which he said he had instructions not to field any questions from journalists on the subject.
He said: "For a long time, my client has been suspecting that his wife, a senior church committee representative at St Pius Parish has been involved in an adulterous relationship with the Archbishop of the Bulawayo Diocese, Pius Ncube.
"My client has instructed and we have issued summons against the Archbishop for causing my client untold suffering, pain, loss of companionship. My client is claiming $10 billion for adultery damages, $5 billion for loss of consortium and $5 billion being loss of contumelia."
Nzarayapenga said his client uncovered evidence that suggested Ncube was having an adulterous relationship with his wife - a secretary at St Pius Church in Pelandaba, Bulawayo.
The lawyer claimed that at one time Sibanda wrote to Ncube warning him on the alleged relationship with his wife. Ncube denied having a relationship with Sibanda's wife.
Ncube’s colleagues last night said he was being targeted in a smear campaign by President Mugabe over his criticism of his government. Ncube recently sparked controversy by saying he would support a British-led invasion of Zimbabwe to topple Mugabe.
Correspondents in Harare said Mugabe told supporters last week that there were some members of the clergy who were involved with married women, yet they wanted to project images of puritans.
Mugabe made the claims during a gathering of Zanu PF supporters at his party's Harare headquarters following a closed door meeting with his powerful central committee members.
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