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Yeukai Karengezeka

Court Correspondent

A Harare woman yesterday took her son to court for allegedly harassing and insulting her by calling her a witch.

Magistrate Ms Tamara Chibindi of Harare Civil Court granted the desired order to Ms Juliet Muchenga and ordered Walter Musasiwa not to insult or threaten his mother and to live together peacefully.

Muchenga told the court that she had become an outcast in the community for being called an alleged witch.

“When my son gets drunk, he insults me by calling me a witch,” she said. “He claims that I am the one who killed his relatives. Now people no longer like me in the neighbourhood because they now believe that I am a witch.”

Ms Muchenga told the court that Musasiwa was threatening to evict her from the house and did not give her any money that the tenants were paying.

“He threatens to evict me from the house,” she said. “He gave me a very small kitchen that I am using as my room. He is using two rooms and the other four rooms have tenants, but he never gives me a single penny because he says it is his father’s house.”

Ms Muchenga further told the court that Musasiwa urinated at her room’s entrance and sometimes poured water on her bed.

She said he switched off electricity when she was cooking and she was surviving on handouts from her church mates.

In response, Musasiwa denied allegations of calling her a witch.

“I have never called her a witch. This house in question was built by my father and I invited mom to stay with us after dad passed away,” he said.

Musasiwa said the grudge emanated from the time his mother demanded to be compensated by in-laws on the day his daughter was married, arguing that they used to share undergarments.

He also said his mother was refusing to take his half-sister’s children to their relatives’ house to be taken care of there.