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Raymond Jaravaza and Lorraine Mathe
WHAT would you do if a person who almost wrecked your marriage lies that they have your baby and you are forced to maintain the child for 11 years?
Well, a prominent Bulawayo pathologist Dr Roger Kruger Hendrick Chigangacha tabulated the money he spent maintaining the child, estimated the monetary value of the anguish he went through over the years because of the lie and arrived at US$163 000, which he is now demanding from the woman.
The doctor is suing his foreign-based ex-girlfriend, Natasha Popova Sibanda, a former actress in the TV drama Amakorokoza, for US$163 000 for falsely attributing the paternity of “their” child to him. Natasha starred as AK’s wife in the drama.
Through his lawyers Mashayamombe and Company Attorneys, Dr Chingangacha filed summons at the High Court in Bulawayo citing Sibanda as the defendant under case number HC51 / 23.
The summons were filed on 20 January 2023.
The pathologist accused his ex-girlfriend of faking the paternity of her daughter who is now aged 11 years by claiming that he was the father of the girl.
However, last year in December, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) profiling was conducted on Dr Chigangacha and his purported daughter and the results convincingly disqualified the pathologist from being the girl’s biological father.
In papers before the court, Dr Chigangacha said Sibanda’s actions subjected him to humiliation, stress and a sense of betrayal.
“On 19 December 2022, and through DNA profiling carried out on me and the minor child, the profile results conclusively excluded me as being the biological father of the child. It was reasonably foreseeable or ought to have been foreseen by the defendant that her promiscuous behaviour at the time of conception would have resulted in me being falsely imputed fatherhood of the child,” he said.
Dr Chigangacha said despite the knowledge that he was not the father of the child, Sibanda deceitfully passed off her daughter as his.
“By reason of the defendant’s conduct, I acted on her misrepresentation and paid for all the educational requirements of the child up to December 31, 2022.
I have also expended some money in respect of travels and costs towards the general welfare and upkeep of the minor child,” he said.
Dr Chigangacha wants the court to direct Sibanda to pay him US$100 000 for her wrongful and deceitful attribution of paternity of the child to him.
He also wants the court to compel the former actress to pay special damages of US$63 000 arising from the payment of the child’s education, health, and incident costs including her upkeep and welfare.
Dr Chigangacha wants the money to be paid with interest at the prescribed rate from the date of issue of summons to the date of payment in full.
He said soon after Sibanda gave birth, she granted him the naming rights of the child. Dr Chigangacha also made a sworn declaration at the registrar of births that he was the biological father of the child.
Dr Chigangacha said he was involved in an extra-marital affair with Sibanda from 2011 until June 2012 during which they engaged in sex. Sibanda conceived and gave birth on May 20, 2012.
Sibanda is yet to respond to the summons. In 2014, Sibanda made headlines when she was dragged to court by Dr Chigangacha’s wife, Tholakele Ncube who accused the former actress of having an adulterous relationship with her husband.
Ncube said Sibanda was in the habit of coming to her matrimonial house threatening her with marching orders saying she was now the doctor’s new and loving wife.
Sibanda openly declared her undying love for the doctor, saying Ncube should come to terms with the fact that they were now both Dr Chigangacha’s wives.
