A ROYAL LOVE TRIANGLE
Chief dumps wife for a cleaner
A woman in the village of Mathathane in Bobirwa was left to nurse a broken heart after her husband of 34 years moved out of their matrimonial home to move in with his new lover.
Thapelo Legadiko (39), a newly hired cleaner at Mathathane Customary Court, swept Deputy Chief Samuel Makola (65) off his feet, three months after being employed. Kgosi Makola then served his wife, Godiramang Makola, with divorce papers and moved in with his catch and colleague.
In a matter that was committed to the Francistown High Court, following failed attempts by the customary courts and family members to resolve the dispute between Kgosi Makola and his wife, the latter was awarded a sizeable chunk of their estate.
The Voice is in possession of customary court documents detailing how the two fell out. According to a detailed report, trouble started after the wife discovered that her husband was cheating on her with Legadiko.
“I confronted him and reported him to the elders. He admitted that indeed he was having an affair and wrote a sworn statement apologising,” she said.
The Voice is in possession of the sworn statement taken at 10h45 on 4th February, 2017 in Mathathane.
However, truce was short-lived as Makola turned on his wife after she reported his mistress to the customary court. The Voice learnt that a fuming Makola was not happy that his wife had taken the matter to court, the same institution where he and his mistress are employed.
“My mistake was reporting the matter.
A re ke mo tshwenyetsa nyatsi (he said I was harassing his mistress),” stated a distraught Makola.
The jilted wife painted a picture of an abusive man who listened to no one and did not take advise from anyone.
DIVORCE
To drive this point home, she said prior to serving her with divorce papers, her husband had refused to meet with elders on three occasions. Although Kgosi Makola stated in his divorce papers that the elders failed to mediate on the matter hence his decision to divorce his wife, his parents - in a letter - rubbished this claim.
In fact, in a letter signed by 10 witnesses, parents from both the wife and husband’s side state that they called for the first meeting on 25th May, 2019 which Makola did not attend. Two other meetings were called on June 1st and June 8th, but still he did not show up.
“As his parents, we know nothing about this divorce. We have attempted to meet with him but he ignored our calls. We can ascertain that his wife ( Mma Makola) is always home and no one knows where her husband stays,” said a letter signed by Lesiba Legwaila, Boikanyo Lefadola and eight others.
In one of her demands, Mma Makola claims that the mistress is heavily pregnant and wants court to order a DNA test. The Deputy Chief’s former wife also painted his ex-husband as an abusive man who once - together with his mistress - assaulted her with a whip. The medical report, which The Voice is in possession of, states that she had bruises on the shoulder and abrasions on eyes and forehead.
Reached for comment, Kgosi Makola did not take kindly to questions about his private life. “I don’t know anything about an assault case, ask the police,” he said.