IT has been quite a hectic month or two for Jocelyn Chiwenga as the estranged wife of Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga suffered a divorce, the humiliation of two evictions and alleged threats to her life.
BY OUR STAFF
From her eviction at Dockson Farm in Goromonzi last month, threatening phone calls from unknown people to fresh dislodgment from her Borrowdale Brooke mansion on Friday, Jocelyn’s eyes tell a story of someone who has missed sleep for a number of days.
Her property is strewn all over her new house in the same neighbourhood as she tries to put things together and start a new life.
Among the papers on the lawn outside is a Valentine’s Day message from the General during their happier days, pictures of then lovebirds holidaying in Hong Kong and several other books about the liberation struggle.
Jocelyn sings her “I feel good” song and bares soul on life in the arms of the defence forces chief, her feelings, her wish to write a book and assist women who suffer abuse.
“I feel so good because God has shown me the way to keep quiet and follow the law. I feel so good. I don’t have confidence in the judge who sat on our case but I feel good with all the judges. I am proud of who I am and what I have achieved in life,” she said.
“In future I will write a book about my life under the arm of an abusive General,” she told The Standard.
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Jocelyn blames her woes on falling in love with Chiwenga and ultimately marrying him in 1998 despite being advised against the move by her family.
“I regret ever marrying him. If I had known he was an abusive husband like this, I would not have married him. I don’t care now, I am out of his system,” she said.
“I married him against my relatives’ advice, but love is blind.”
Chiwenga reportedly left the matrimonial home in April of 2010 and from then, he has not even made a phone call to his now former wife or adopted child, The Standard was told.
When The Standard visited her new home yesterday, she was putting things together and said although the place was smaller, she would find peace and joy there.
Since 2002, the couple had stayed at the spacious uphill Borrowdale Brooke mansion that overlooks President Robert Mugabe’s home. Jocelyn said it was shocking that soldiers were sent to evict women at that house, herself, three maids and her personal assistant.
Asked whether she felt let down by other people in government or the party in her divorce case and her current situation, she said: “I don’t feel let down because they all tried to talk to us but the man [Chiwenga] has no respect for anyone. He tells people to mind their own business, so who can advise such a person.”
She added: “All this is to spite me after he committed a crime, bigamy is a crime and I am suing for US$40 million for that.”
Jocelyn said she was not bitter but would rather pray for Chiwenga.
“I am not angry with him. I feel sorry for the General and only God knows. I will forgive him and pray for him, he really needs to know God. He is not the only one that went to war but he wants to portray himself as a hero of heroes,” she said.
“Now I feel I have managed to fight for all the women in Zimbabwe and will not stop fighting. People should respect the words they say when they get married. He doesn’t know how to say ‘I am sorry or please’.”
After her eviction from Dockson Farm by more than 20 Presidential Guard officers recently and before she could recover from that, the soldiers and police accompanied the deputy sheriff to her home and forced her out.
On Friday, truckloads of the security officers were brought to her place and evicted her. She was given orders not to take what they thought was their boss’s property.
“They drank beer and wine and most of them got drunk and started behaving funny,” she said.
“They did exactly what they did to me at the farm. They came here without a court order and said they were working under instruction. There were police and soldiers [that were] not in uniform,” she told our sister paper, NewsDay.
Jocelyn went through a nasty divorce with the army boss who is now stripping her of several properties after a protracted court battle.
The two were married in November 1998 before their marriage irretrievably broke down in 2012 when Chiwenga filed for divorce citing Jocelyn’s alleged violent behaviour.
The army boss who could not be reached for comment is now customarily married to Mary Mubaiwa, an ex-model. Mubaiwa was formerly married to ex-Zimbabwe national team forward Shingi Kawondera.
The divorce case has been going on under a media blackout after Chiwenga’s lawyers from Scanlen and Holderness obtained a High Court order barring the media from reporting on the case’s proceedings.
Though many seem to sympathise with her because of the treatment she is getting, others sympathetic to former Prime Minister and MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai feel she is having a taste of her own medicine.
Asked yesterday whether she attacked Tsvangirai or not, as has been the sentiment within the MDC-T circles, Jocelyn explained: “Tsvangirai never reported that case because really there was nothing. I didn’t go after Tsvangirai but I went to a CNN cameraman who was focussing on empty shelves and told him to take videos of shelves where there were groceries.”
“I only told Tsvangirai not to call for sanctions against his country and I am glad we learnt a lesson because he now sees that. Sanctions have killed business in Zimbabwe but we as Zimbabweans are fighters, we will get up and go. We are strong.”
Asked whether she felt betrayed by the government or Zanu PF, she said: “No, I don’t feel let down. I only feel let down by the judge in this case because the previous judges would speak to us, advise us.”
“He [Chiwenga] thinks he is above the law because there was never an eviction order and how can you go and get a divorce grant when my lawyers are not there? What is he teaching the young soldiers?”
