A married Bulawayo soldier allegedly assaulted his former girlfriend with an electric cord when she confronted him over maintenance that he had not been paying since July 2013.Peter Zharare, stationed at State House, has a two-year-old child with his girlfriend Memory Mautsa.
The maintenance arrears had accrued to $1,425.
Mautsa yesterday applied for a $75 monthly garnishee order against Zharare.
Bulawayo provincial magistrate Sheunesu Matova heard how Zharare would become violent when she asked him about money for the upkeep of his daughter.
“When I confronted him at his residence last year, he beat me up with an electrical cord. I had to seek a protection order against him because when l talked to him about supporting our child he would threaten to beat me up.”
Mautsa said a garnishee order would be best as she would get the money through a bank.
“Your worship, I’m applying for a garnishee order because Zharare has not honoured some of his payments. They have accumulated up to $1,425. I would like the honourable court to please grant me a $75 garnishee order deposited directly in my account,” said Mautsa.
Zharare denied beating her up saying he made an arrangement for her to receive groceries from his workplace.
“Your worship, I have been supplying my child with groceries and my boss is the one who gives her. My child was taken to the rural areas to stay with Mautsa’s parents without my consent,” said Zharare.
He told the court he could not afford the $75 garnishee order she was applying for and offered $40 every month.
Zharare said he was not able to pay the $1,425 arrears as well.
Magistrate Sheunesu granted Mausta a $75 garnishee order with effect from March and dismissed the $1,425 arrears after she decided to withdraw the claim.