Harare – A Harare High Court has ordered a cellphone dealer to pay his ex-wife US$32,500 as part of their divorce settlement, bringing an end to a decade-long relationship that began amidst the bustling atmosphere of Harare’s Gulf Complex.
Letwin Kadiyo and Kudakwashe Naison’s story, one of entrepreneurial collaboration and eventual acrimony, highlights the complexities of dissolving partnerships built on both love and business.
The couple’s journey began in 2013 when Kadiyo, a shoe seller at the Gulf Complex, met Naison, a cellphone dealer. Their romance blossomed, leading them to cohabit in 2014. In 2015, after Kadiyo conceived their first child, she ceased working and invested her US$500 savings into Naison’s burgeoning cellphone business.
Their enterprise flourished. The couple moved to a rented flat in the Avenues area and secured a US$35,000 loan of cellphones from a Chinese contact, a significant step in expanding their business operations.
Their financial success continued, culminating in the purchase of a property in Haydon Park, which they later sold for US$65,000. They also acquired a Honda Fit car, a testament to their growing prosperity.
However, their partnership eventually crumbled, culminating in their separation in March 2023. Kadiyo initiated legal proceedings, claiming that she left approximately US$40,000 worth of stock in the cellphone business upon their separation and was entitled to half the share. She argued that this represented a significant contribution to their joint assets accumulated during their marriage.
Naison, in his defence, denied the existence of a formal business partnership with Kadiyo. He claimed he was still repaying the loan to their Chinese contact and asserted that he had provided for Kadiyo after their separation by leaving her with the Honda Fit and establishing a weave-selling business for her. His argument centred on the assertion that the assets accumulated were primarily his own, not the result of a joint venture.
Justice Emy Tsanga, however, ruled in favour of Kadiyo, stating that even in the absence of a formal business partnership, Kadiyo was entitled to her share of the marital assets. The judge’s ruling focused on the couple’s jointly-owned property in Haydon Park.
“In my view, even if the court accepts that they were not in a business partnership, he cannot escape this obvious reality that she owned half of what they considered to be the marital home. He could not have used her half share of the proceeds from the sale of the property in which he owned half of it, to cover his own business loan. He owes her US$32 500,” Justice Tsanga declared.
The court’s decision awarded Kadiyo US$32,500, representing her half-share of the proceeds from the sale of their Haydon Park property. The ruling stipulated that Naison must pay this amount within six months, or within a mutually agreed-upon timeframe.
“Kudakwashe shall pay the Letwin the sum of US$32 500.00 being her half share of the proceeds from the sale of the jointly owned property being Stand 3239 State Land, Haydon Farm, measuring 877 square metres. The sum of US$32 500.00 shall be paid over a period of six months or such period as the parties may agree between themselves in writing,” the court order reads.