PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai chose to enjoy a round of golf on Saturday at the same time a Chiweshe chief was ‘trying’ him for allegedly flouting traditional customs.
Chief Negomo of Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central had summonsed Tsvangirai to appear before his court to answer charges of marrying his pregnant girlfriend in November, which is considered taboo under Shona culture.
Tsvangirai, 59, is said to have married Harare businesswoman, Locadia Tembo, whose sister is a lawmaker for President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party, at a traditional ceremony on November 21.
He reportedly paid a bride price, known as lobola, of $36,000 and 15 cattle to his new in-laws but announced, twelve days later, that he was ending the relationship, claiming that he had paid the Tembo family damages after getting the woman pregnant with twins.
Chief Negomo summoned him to appear before his court on Saturday but Tsvangirai refused to attend with his lawyers dismissing the hearing as ‘defective and illegal’.
The MDC-T leader ignored the ‘trial’ and spent some time playing golf at Royal Harare Golf Club in the capital.
Meanwhile, Chief Negomo fined him two cows, two sheep and ten metres of white fabric while his new "wife" was also fined two cows, two sheep and a goat for accepting the offer.
MDC-T spokesman, Douglas Mwonzora dismissed the judgment as political machinations orchestrated by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
Tsvangirai’s first wife Susan died in a car crash in 2009.