An elderly woman from Mutare was allegedly caught caressing her niece Tafadzwa Sikanda’s husband last week on Thursday.
The illicit relationship between Josephine Karinda who is in her 50s and Nathan Sakurira was exposed after the man’s sister-in-law, Winnet Sikanda, saw the two embracing at midnight.
Tafadzwa’s mother and Karinda are sisters.
In the Shona culture, Karinda is also Tafadzwa’s mother and it is taboo for her to have an affair with her son-in-law.
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When Karinda and Sakurira were caught, Tafadzwa was in Bocha and she had to rush back to Mutare to confront her husband and aunt.
In an interview, Winnet said she was not shocked to witness the intimate scene between her brother-in-law and her aunt as rumours about their affair had been awash in the community for months.
When The Weekender visited Sakubva last week on Thursday, neighbours said they wanted to humiliate the lovebirds publicly.
They hurled insults at Karinda and Sakurira.
Karinda managed to escape and was allegedly seeking refuge at Chisamba Police Station.
Said Winnet: “I caught them caressing each other at midnight. They were seated outside the house, while everyone was inside sleeping. This man is my sister’s husband and Karinda is my mother’s sister, it is inappropriate for them to be intimate.
“I confronted them and Karinda told me to mind my own business. They continued with what they were doing, unashamed. His hands were inside her blouse,” she fumed.
The scene caused pandemonium in the neighbourhood as people gathered to get details of the affair the next morning.
Some people recorded videos and took pictures of the disgraced couple and shared them on social media. Tafadzwa said she had to rush to her Sakubva house after hearing that the cheats had been caught.
“My aunt Karinda and her other sister Pauline have for the past three months been denying me access to my husband as they are staying with him here. Winnet was also kicked out so that they could enjoy quality time with my husband while I am in the rural areas.
“They claim to be renting but I have never seen their rentals. Instead, my husband spoils them with goodies instead of taking care of his children.
“He buys them bread every day, yet his kids and me are starving in the rural areas. I know for a fact that they are the ones cooking and feeding him as well as washing his undergarments,” she said.
Tafadzwa’s neighbours said they had been suspecting that something was going on between Karinda and Sakurira for a long time.
Cecilia Gambe, who was also at the scene, said they were disgusted and outraged by the immoral behaviour of the lovebirds.
“This is an abomination. This man has vowed that his lover will not leave his house. This is like sleeping with his mother-in-law. It is very shameful. Both of them should be ashamed. This is not something we expect from grown-up people like them,” she said.
Sakurira, a father of two who has been married to Tafadzwa for 20 years was adamant that he is just friends with Karinda.
“I used to stay with my sister-in-law Winnet here. I kicked her out because she had not paid rentals for four months. My wife’s other sisters insisted that I should also kick out their aunt, but I refused because she was paying her rentals on time.
“That is the genesis of all this drama. My wife’s sisters peddled all these falsehoods. We can consult traditional healers and prophets so that the truth is revealed. God is my witness, I did not sleep with my mother-in-law,” he said.
He also denied that Karinda does his laundry.
“Karinda’s daughter was actually doing my laundry, not her,” he said.
Karinda’s sister, Pauline Karinda, stood in Sakurira’s corner and said her nieces were jealous after being kicked out of the house.
She said Sakurira is always drunk and has no time for relationships.
“These are all lies, Winnet is just angry because she was kicked out of the house. What did she expect when she was not paying her rentals? I stay with my sister, Josephine, and I can testify that they are not lovers. We are feeding our son-in-law and doing his laundry in the absence of his wife,” she said.
The family decided to evict the Karinda sisters so that Tafadzwa could relocate from their rural home and stay with her husband in Sakubva.
