Highcourt orders Mother to pay US$200 monthly maintenance to ex-husband, denies custody
By Fanuel Viriri
A Zimbabwean woman based in Australia has lost a High Court bid to take custody of her 9-year-old daughter from her ex-husband in Zimbabwe and has instead been ordered to pay US$200 per month in maintenance.
Justice Fatima Maxwell of the High Court sitting in Harare awarded sole custody of the minor child, A.R, to the father, Brian Sunguro, and granted the mother, Abigal Manyati, access during alternate school holidays and through regular virtual contact.
The couple married under the then Marriage Act and later separated. They have no shared property. The dispute centred on custody, access and maintenance of their daughter. Mrs Manyati relocated to Australia in 2017 to pursue nursing studies and is now employed there earning between 50,000 and 70,000 Australian dollars (US$32 500 to US$42 500) per year. She proposed that she be awarded sole custody with the child joining her in Australia, and offered to pay US$100 per month in maintenance.
Mr Sunguro opposed the application and sought custody, arguing that he had cared for the child in Zimbabwe since January 2017 and that the child was settled in school and in his household.
The court found that while Mrs Manyati’s relocation was aimed at building a better future for the family, she has been physically absent from the child’s life for about nine years. The judge noted that the child has been raised in Zimbabwe by the father and extended family, and that uprooting her to Australia would cause instability.
Compounding this, Mrs Manyati conceded under cross-examination that she does not hold permanent residency in Australia and that her visa expires in October 2027, making it subject to renewal. The court held that the best interests of the child, as provided for in section 81(2) of the Constitution, required that she remain in the stable environment she knows.
On access, the court ordered that Mrs Manyati shall have physical access during alternate school holidays provided she bears all travel costs. However, any travel of the child to Australia is conditional upon Mrs Manyati providing verifiable proof that her Australian visa has been renewed beyond October 2027. The court also ordered structured virtual access via WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom or other agreed platforms to help rebuild the mother-daughter bond.
On maintenance, the court rejected both Mrs Manyati’s offer of US$100 and Mr Sunguro’s claim for US$650 as either too low or excessive. Balancing the child’s needs against the parents’ means, Justice Maxwell ordered Mrs Manyati to pay US$200 per month, 50% of school fees directly to the school, and all school uniforms. Both parents must contribute equally to casual clothing. Mr Sunguro was ordered to pay medical aid and meet the child’s day-to-day living expenses and accommodation.
The court further ordered that neither parent may remove the child from Zimbabwe without the prior written and notarized consent of the other, and that the child must remain at her current school unless both parents agree otherwise. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.