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The Rhodesia Herald, 

May 19, 1967 

SHORTLY after his wife began work at a club, she began talking of a “wonderful” man she had met, a man told Justice Lewis in the High Court, Salisbury, yesterday. 

When he asked what her feelings were for this man, she told him that she was in love with him and she wanted to stay with her friends until she made up her mind whether to return or not. 

However, when passing the house where she was staying late one night, he saw the other man’s car parked in front. He looked in the window and saw the man come out of the bathroom and go into the bedroom. 

He went into the house to investigate, and found his wife in bed with the man. She told him that she had left him.  

He was granted a divorce on the grounds of adultery. 

Another wife said her marriage was happy until two years ago when her husband’s attitude changed; he became secretive and withdrawn. 

Later she found two photographs and three “passionate” love letters from a woman with whom he had an “intimate relationship” before their marriage in 1951. 

He made mysterious telephone calls, while she was having her bath at night. 

He said he was calling his foreman, she said: “But no one speaks to their foreman like that”. 

She was granted a divorce. 

Another woman said that six months after their marriage, her husband started assaulting her and accused her of infidelity. 

On one occasion, he asked their African servant if any man had visited her. When she questioned him he became angry, knocking her to the floor and beating her with his hands. When she tried to get up he began kicking her.  

She was granted a divorce. 

LESSONS FOR TODAY 

 Adultery is a cancer that is tearing apart many marriages across the world. It brings to the fore the issue of morality. In Zimbabwe it is among the top reasons for divorce cases at the courts. 

 The high number of adultery cases show that there is need for couples to go for proper counselling before getting married. 

 The coming in of social media gadgets has exacerbated the situation as people are increasingly becoming anti-social and couples are spending less time together. 

 An abusive marriage is not sustainable and unfair to the one who is at the receiving end of the abuse.