Botswana Based Woman Loses 6 Houses After Court Says Husband Had 3 Wives – 100 Pula ‘Divorce Token’ Thrown At Wife Rejected
By Fanuel Viriri
A Zimbabwean woman based in Botswana who claimed to be the only surviving wife of her late husband in a bid to inherit his six properties has lost her case at the High Court sitting in Harare after the court found that he was survived by three wives.
For most of her life, Pupurai Makoni lived with her husband Paul Samboti, a controversial and well-known businessman among the Zimbabwean community in Botswana, until drama erupted at their house when one of the wives was chased away. A 100 Pula divorce token (gupuro) was tossed at one of the wives, but the High Court ruled that this did not constitute a divorce at law.
Pupurai (Makoni) filed an application at the High Court seeking to be declared the only surviving spouse of Paul Sambadoti, who died on 3 August 2019. The late businessman left behind six houses in Zimbabwe which were at the centre of the inheritance dispute.
In her court papers, Makoni said she stayed with Sambadoti in Botswana for years, helped him build his business, assisted in purchasing the properties and took care of him during his illness until he passed away. She argued that Sambadoti’s first wife Candy Muganho had long been divorced, while the second woman Pauline Mushanigwa was known to her only as a business partner and not a wife.
Focusing on Muganho, Makoni told the court that in 2008 while in Botswana, Muganho returned to collect her belongings and an argument broke out. During that altercation, Sambadoti allegedly threw a 100 Pula (US$7.30) note at Muganho as gupuro, declaring that their marriage was over.
Muganho denied ever being divorced and told the court that she and Sambadoti had reconciled despite their marital problems.
Justice Amy Tsanga dismissed the 100 Pula divorce claim, saying customary law requires proper procedures involving a middleman and the wife’s family.
“A shouting match in Botswana where Paul Sambadoti is alleged by Pupurai to have flung a 100 Pula note at his wife in front of her friend, hardly constitutes the proper notification to the wife’s family that a marriage has ended,” Justice Tsanga said.
On Mushanigwa, the court heard that lobola had been paid for her and her mother, Grace Mushanigwa, confirmed receiving the customary groceries with Sambadoti recognised as her son-in-law. Although Sambadoti himself was not present at the ceremony, his relatives attended.
Justice Tsanga accepted Mushanigwa as a wife, ruling that customary marriages can be conducted through representatives.
The court also noted that both Muganho and Mushanigwa participated in registering the estate at the Master of the High Court where they were all recognised as wives, and all three women had featured in family arrangements concerning rental income from the properties.
In the end, Justice Tsanga found that Makoni had proved she was a wife, but failed to prove that the other two marriages had ended. She ruled that evidence of separation is stronger than evidence of a completed dissolution.
The claim was dismissed with costs, meaning Sambadoti was survived by all three wives who will now share in his estate