20/05/2026
UPDATE NEWS ON DEPUTY MINISTER DAVIS MARAPIRA by ZimLive
*Dehumanising, cruel and abusive’ minister divorced by Bishop Mutendi’s daughter*
BYSTAFF REPORTER
07:48, 20 MAY 2026
HARARE – Sibusisiwe Melody Marapira, the wife of deputy Minister of agriculture, mechanisation and water resources development Davis Marapira has filed for divorce in the High Court, accusing him of physical, emotional and financial abuse, issuing death threats, and maintaining adulterous relationships with multiple women during their marriage.
The summons, filed on April 17, 2026, in the Family Division of the High Court in Harare lists irreconcilable differences as the primary ground for the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, alongside a catalogue of alleged misconduct by the deputy minister.
In the declaration attached to the summons, Sibusisiwe – a daughter of Bishop Samuel Mutendi, the leader of the Zion Christian Church – alleges that her husband subjected her to “dehumanising, abusive and cruel treatment physically, emotionally and financially,” going as far as issuing death threats.
She further alleges that Marapira “persistently maintained adulterous relationships with several women throughout the subsistence of the marriage” and had even entered into a customary marriage with one of them.
couple wed on September 7, 2013, under the Marriages Act in Masvingo. They have three children born in 2008, 2012 and 2014, two of whom are still minors.
Sibusisiwe is seeking sole custody of the minor children, with the deputy minister afforded access at his own expense, including unlimited telephone contact, two successive weekends during school holidays, and alternating access on public holidays.
She is asking the court to order Marapira to pay US$500 per child per month in maintenance, meet all school fees, uniforms and educational expenses through to Advanced Level, cover tertiary education costs where applicable, maintain the children on medical aid, and fund one annual holiday trip per child.
Despite citing financial abuse among the grounds for divorce, Sibusisiwe states she is employed and is not seeking spousal maintenance.
The couple accumulated significant assets during the marriage, according to the declaration. Known immovable properties include Lammote Farm of 426 hectares in Masvingo, Stand 4 Clipsham Township A in Masvingo, and the family home at 589 Campbell Road, Borrowdale, Harare.
The declaration also notes that the deputy minister is a beneficiary of at least three government-allocated properties – a farm in Beatrice, a property in Borrowdale, and another in Masvingo.
Sibusisiwe is seeking the Borrowdale house and a 50 percent share of Lammote Farm, while Marapira would retain the Clipsham Township stand, his 50 percent share of the farm, and the government-allocated properties.
Movable assets listed in the summons include four vehicles – a Land Rover Defender, Ford Ranger, Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Navara, all held by Marapira – as well as household contents at the Borrowdale and Masvingo homes, farm equipment and implements at Lammote Farm, livestock, and a dairy business. She is seeking a 50-50 split of several of those assets.
Sibusisiwe is represented by Danana Mharapara Attorneys.
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