Daily Independent Online.
*
Wednesday, July 21, 2004.
Ex-wife sues Westerhof for $18,000
By Afolabi Gambari
Special
Correspondent,
Harare
Divorced wife of
former Super Eagles' Technical Adviser Clemens Westerhof, Tendayi, is claiming
100 million Zimbabwean dollars (US$18,886) in damages for defamation against her
ex-husband, two months after their marriage was formally dissolved in a high
profile case at a Harare High Court.
If Tendayi succeeds
in her suit, Daily Independent gathered, she would get a total of 210 million
Zimbabwean dollars ($39,622).
This is sequel to
an agreement reached after both parties consented to termination of their
marriage and that Westerhof would pay a lump sum of 110 million Zimbabwean
dollars (US$20,755) as divorce settlement and maintenance obligations.
It was also
gathered that this development arose after a paternity test proved that
Westerhof was the biological father of Tendayi's child named Aaliyah
Nyashadzashe who was born in January 2003.
The controversial
Dutchman, who became a household name in Africa after leading Nigeria's
football out of self-inflicted ruin in the late 80s of the last century,
divorced his wife at the High Court in May, this year after the couple's
marriage allegedly failed to live up to expectations. In the summons filed
early this month, Tendayi made the claims after statements allegedly made
against her by Westerhof purporting that she had infected him with an HIV
virus.
Tendayi, widely
known across Zimbabwe as an HIV/Aids activist and former model, claimed that
consequent upon her falling pregnant, she had advised her husband of her HIV
status. Westerhof promptly deny responsibility for the pregnancy before the
couple separated and characteristically went public to declare same.
"He repeated
the same allegations to his lawyers and various lawyers representing the
plaintiff (Tendayi)," the summons read in part.
"By publicly
denying the pregnancy, the defendant (Westerhof) explicitly told the plaintiff
and other persons that the plaintiff committed adultery and that the pregnancy
was caused by another man," the summons also read. It consequently forced
a claim in court by Tendayi that the statement had been understood by
right-thinking people to mean that she was a person of loose morals.
The summons had
been served by Chihambakwe, Mutizwa and Partners, the lawyers representing
Westerhof, although in a twist they distanced themselves from latest claims by
Tendayi, saying they did not have instructions to act on Westerhof's behalf.
"Regrettably,
we do not have the power of attorney to accept service of process on behalf of
Mr. Westerhof," the lawyers said in a letter to Tendayi's lawyers,
Chikumbirike and Associates, a copy of which was also sent to Registrar of the
High Court.
Daily Independent
further gathered that Westerhof who, under a contract with ZIFA, coached the
Zimbabwe's national teams until 2000, had in August of the same year sought a
court injunction and other ancillary relief against Tendayi at the High Court.
He also averred that his marriage had "irretrievably broken down and there
are no prospects of restoring it."
The couple had
since ceased to live together as husband and wife owing to "serious
irreconcilable differences" that existed between both parties, even as
Westerhof has since relocated to South Africa where, he claims, he now enjoys "a blissful life."
