“MY neighbour has been sleeping with my wife for more than 40 years and is the father of the five children that I always thought were mine,” a forlon Johnson Tshuma (66) from Dollar Extension in Inyathi, Matabeleland North tells anyone who cares to listen.
He believes his neighbour, Danny Donga (68), is the biological father of “his children.”
The oldest is 43 years old.
An irate Donga has since demanded US$4 000 compensation from Tshuma for soiling his reputation.
B-Metro went to Inyathi to get more about the strange story.
Like a devastating blow to his existence, Tshuma said, he discovered the extra marital affair last year and sent his wife a WhatsApp message while she was in South Africa.
In the message, he accused her of infidelity with Donga.
The message read in part: “You have to tell Donga to come and pay lobola for all his children. You’ve been cheating on me with him all this time.
He used to come to our homestead in my absence and give the children sweets. There were even times he’d take them to Bulawayo without my knowledge.”
Inflamed by the accusations, Sithandazile impulsively sent a message to Donga telling him what her husband had said.
“The whole thing began last year during a visit to South Africa. While I was away, my husband sent a message accusing me of having an extra marital affair with our neighbour Donga. He claimed all five of our children, even the eldest who’s 43, were fathered by Donga,” said a crest-fallen Sithandazile.
Tshuma said what truly incensed him was that Donga had the audacity to visit their home and request his presence at Tshuma’s son’s coming-of-age ceremony (ukutshayela umntwana ihlahla).
“Imagine my shock,” Tshuma recounted, “when Donga came into our home one morning, carrying an axe in his hand, and asked me to accompany him to perform a coming-of-age ceremony for my own son.”
That angered me because in our culture, only a biological father can perform a son’s coming-of-age ceremony, asking the ancestors to offer protection and guidance,” he explained, his voice laced with worry.
He added that Donga had once gone out with his wife, further fuelling the dispute.
“Last year, Donga arrived in his car and took my wife somewhere without even bothering to tell me where they were going. They returned in the evening, and when I questioned them, my wife got angry and shouted at me.
“She even had the guts to say that she doesn’t need to explain herself, since I sometimes go to my own ‘places’ without revealing my whereabouts,” he said.
Tshuma confessed to living in perpetual fear, even avoiding sleeping at home.
“I’m now living in fear. I’m afraid he will come and attack me during the night. I also suspect he could send people to come and attack me. He always threatens to attack me,” he said.
He said he reported the matter to Chief Mtshane Khumalo’s traditional court.
“I have reported the matter to Chief Mtshane Khumalo. Donga is now harassing me, demanding US$4 000 or an equivalent herd of cattle. I refuse to yield to his extortion,” he charged.
Asked why he is still living with his wife who may have been cheating on him since Independence in 1980 his answer was simple.
“She is my wife and I love her. I have never beaten her up. The person who is causing problems in our marriage is Donga,” he said.
Donga, however, denied performing Tshuma’s son’s coming-of-age ceremony. He claims the issue has become a source of widespread gossip throughout the community, severely damaging his reputation.
“Tshuma has been spreading malicious gossip throughout the community, accusing me of having an illicit affair with his wife and fathering all their children, even the eldest one, who is already 43 years old,” said Donga
Donga emphatically denied fathering Tshuma’s children.
“I’m not in love with Tshuma’s wife and I have never been,” he said.
Donga’s wife Sithokozile believes a DNA test is the sole path to resolving the emotional turmoil.
“My husband denies the accusations,” she stated. “I believe a DNA test is the only way to resolve this matter definitively. He is willing to cooperate fully.”
“I agree to a DNA test,” Donga declared. “This whole ordeal is causing me immense distress, but I expect compensation for the cost upon completion.”
Donga is also demanding US$4 000 from Tshuma as compensation for ruining his reputation.
