Man Sets Self Alight & Dies At Magistrate’s Home Over Pending Maintenance Ruling’

  1. CHIVI: A 32-year-old man doused himself with petrol and set himself ablaze at the magistrate’s house the day he was supposed to be sentenced for defaulting maintenance payment, police have said.Provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nkululeko Nduna said Musiiwa Matembe was supposed to appear before Chivi magistrate Bishard Chineka last week after defaulting in paying $50 maintenance to his ex-girlfriend

    Instead, Matembe decided to head to Chineka’s residence where he handed a note to the magistrate’s wife alleging that the learned magistrate had brought misery to his life.

    “He burst into the house after handing in the note and set himself alight; the wife alerted his husband who in turn called the police.

    “The police rushed to the scene but by the time they reached the house the man had already died and his body was taken to Chivi District Hospital,” Nduna said.

    According to Nduna, Matembe blamed the magistrate for bringing misery to him over a maintenance case after he was first ordered to pay $40 per month to his girlfriend only identified as Jessica for the upkeep of the couple’s seven month old baby.

    Nduna said the girlfriend applied for an upward variation of $10 which was also granted and Matembe was ordered to pay $50 since February this year but he continued paying the $40 despite the order forcing his girlfriend to approach the courts seeking the balance.

    “He later appeared in court on Tuesday (last week) and was remanded out of custody to the next day (Wednesday) for judgement but did not turn up as he was setting himself ablaze at the magistrate’s residence,” Nduna said. source-newzimbabwe

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