A Harare man, Joseph Katumba, has taken his wife, Stella Kangara, to court, accusing her of denying him conjugal rights for nearly a decade due to his prolonged unemployment.
Katumba shared his plight in court, claiming that his wife reacts violently whenever he seeks intimacy.
“She screams, bites, and scratches me whenever I try to touch her. She shouts, ‘You want to kill me!’ and pushes me away,” Katumba explained, adding that he has been sleeping on the floor for nine years while his wife occupies their matrimonial bed.
He sought a protection order, alleging that her actions amounted to emotional and psychological abuse.
In her defense, Stella argued that her husband’s unemployment made him unattractive.
“I am not a s3x object. I need emotional and financial security to feel loved and appreciated. His lack of effort to find a job has destroyed my desire for intimacy. Sometimes we go to bed hungry, and he still demands s3x when I don’t even have the energy,” she told the court.
Presiding over the case, Magistrate Meenal Naratom condemned Stella’s actions, emphasizing that unemployment, while challenging, does not justify abusive behavior.
“Unemployment can be a significant stressor, but it does not excuse physical and emotional abuse,” the magistrate stated.
The court granted Joseph a protection order, prohibiting Stella from further abusive actions. Magistrate Naratom also encouraged the couple to pursue marriage counseling to address their issues and work toward rebuilding their relationship.
