Harare – A Harare man has approached the courts seeking a protection order against his wife, claiming she has denied him sex for nine long years.
Joseph Katumba’s testimony before Magistrate Meenal Naratom detailed a distressing situation marked by not only a prolonged lack of intimacy but also alleged physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his wife, Stella Kangara.
Katumba painted a picture of a deeply strained marriage, explaining that his wife attributes her refusal to his unemployment.
“She screams, bites and scratches me whenever I touch her,” he told the court. “She yells, ‘You want to kill me!’ and pushes me away. I have been forced to sleep on the floor for nine years, while she occupies our bed.”
He argued that this behaviour constitutes a form of emotional and psychological abuse, necessitating a protection order to ensure his safety and well-being.
Kangara, however, presented a different perspective, linking her lack of desire for intimacy directly to her husband’s unemployment and the resulting financial strain on their household.
“I am not a sex object,” she stated. “I need emotional and financial security to feel loved and appreciated. My husband’s lack of effort to get a job has killed my desire for intimacy. Sometimes we sleep on an empty stomach and he demands sex yet I will not have the energy to do so.”
Magistrate Naratom, while acknowledging the significant stress caused by unemployment, expressed serious concern over Kangara’s behaviour.
“While unemployment can be a significant stressor, it does not justify physical and emotional abuse,” she stated firmly.
Recognising the gravity of Katumba’s claims, the magistrate granted him a protection order, explicitly instructing Kangara to refrain from any further physical or emotional abuse.
In a bid to address the underlying issues contributing to the breakdown of the marriage, the court also urged the couple to seek professional help through marriage counselling. The protection order offers Katumba a legal safeguard, but the long-term resolution of their marital problems will depend on their willingness to engage in the recommended counselling.
