In a surprising and dramatic development, a pastor from the End Time Messages church in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe, has been ordered to pay child support after DNA tests confirmed he fathered two children with a woman whose wedding he officiated.
The marriage between Eunice Mururi and Farai Hatirarami fell apart after it was revealed that Hatirarami is not the biological father of the two children he had believed were his. Mururi subsequently took Pastor Vhetu to the Chiredzi Magistrate Court, seeking $700 in monthly child maintenance for her two children, aged 8 and 4.
During court proceedings, Pastor Vhetu admitted to being the father of the children but requested a lower maintenance payment. He argued that his income as a pastor is mostly derived from tithes and offerings, often in the form of food rather than money. Represented by lawyer Farai Chauke, Vhetu claimed he had no steady income and could only afford 150 Zimbabwean dollars per child as support.
Vhetu also revealed that, apart from his pastoral role, he works as a farmer and already has eight other children to support. He stated that he doesn’t have a bank account but does have an EcoCash account, offering to cover the children’s school fees and uniforms. However, he controversially suggested that new clothes should only be bought in June or December, adding, “only Elon Musk’s children get new clothes every month.”
Magistrate Diana Musiiwa found Vhetu's offer insincere and ruled that he must pay $175 per month for both children. The case has left the local community in shock, especially considering the pastor’s involvement in the collapse of a marriage he once officiated.
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