By Judith Sibanda
Victoria Falls mayor, Somvelo Dhlamini is facing a ZW$330 000 lawsuit from a local resident who is accusing him of allegedly engaging in an adulterous sexual relationship with his wife.
The plaintiff Shaktya Nyathi from Victoria Falls filed the summons at the Bulawayo High Court under case number 351/20 last week.
According to the summons Nyathi alleges that on various occasions and at different places, Dhlamini and his wife Sithabile Sibanda committed adultery.
Nyathi indicated that his marriage to Sibanda was solemnised in terms of Chapter 5:11 of the Marriages Act.
He is seeking ZW$150 000 damages for contumelia and ZW$180 000 for loss of the comfort, society and services as his wife had disserted him to settle with Dhlamini.
In court papers, Nyathi through his legal practitioners Ncube Attorneys said Dhlamini’s actions were ‘wrongful and intentional’.
Dhlamini is yet to respond.
The lawsuit follows Dhlamini’s recent arrest by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) last week where he is accused of forging title deeds of a housing stand in 2013 before illegally selling the stand to one Memory Buhle Sithole for US$ 20 000.
Dhlamini had acquired the Aerodrome stand when he was Ward 9 councillor and the terms of the agreement was that he was not supposed to sell it to anyone without developing a full structure.
He had bought the stand at 40% discount, but sold it to Sithole at full charge.
Zacc says the stand was sold in 2017 and no development had been done and as a result, council lost US$ 12 000 if the stand had been repossessed and sold to another home seeker.
He is expected back in court on February 25.
