The High Court has awarded a record US$25,000 in adultery damages to AFM Church elder and retired GZU lecturer, Dr Viola Dhudhla, after she sued her husband’s mistress for wrecking her 41-year marriage.
Harare High Court judge Justice Joel Mambara granted the landmark damages on 27 April 2025, describing the case as one of the most egregious he had ever seen.
‘Sharp knife cutting through my heart’
The Masvingo Mirror reports that, in emotional testimony, Dr Dhudhla said her life was torn apart when her husband, Augustus Ratidzo Machingura, a war veteran and sugarcane farmer, left her for Euginia Machaya, a villager from Chiredzi.
She told the court:
“The pain I suffered as Machaya came into my marriage is like a sharp knife cutting through my heart.”
Dr Dhudhla said her husband stripped her of all spousal rights. He repossessed her Mitsubishi Colt vehicle and replaced her with Machaya as a signatory on business accounts.
“My husband removed me and my children from a Tongaat Huletts Medical Aid and replaced us with Machaya, her two children and other children from her previous relationship,” she said.
Judge highlights ‘total lack of contrition’
Justice Mambara noted that the previous highest award for adultery damages in Zimbabwe was US$20 000, but raised the figure to US$25 000 because of the serious circumstances.
He said:
“The court is satisfied that an award modestly above the most recent ceiling of US$20 000 is justified to reflect the changing economic realities and the egregious facts of this case.”
Justice Mambara highlighted Machaya’s “total lack of contrition” for the collapse of a 41-year marriage, pointing out that the affair produced two children.
He ruled that US$16 000 was for contumelia (indignity, insult and harsh treatment) and US$9 000 for loss of consortium (collapse of marriage due to the role played by another party).
‘In and out of hospital’
Dhudhla, who is diabetic and hypertensive, said the heartbreak worsened her health problems.
“From 2019 when I became aware of the adulterous relationship, I have been in and out of hospital due to diabetes, depression and hypertension,” she said.
She revealed that she now survives on maintenance after fighting in court. Her husband reportedly absconds on maintenance and now lives with Machaya in Gutu.
Dhudhla was represented by Pauline Chimwanda of Saratoga Makausi Law Chambers.
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