A court in Hwange, Zimbabwe, has ordered a woman to refund US$2,500 in child maintenance payments after DNA results showed the man who had been supporting the child was not the biological father.

 

 

The ruling followed a long running paternity dispute involving Clean Nyathi, who said he had questioned the child’s paternity since 2014 and repeatedly requested a DNA test.

 

 

“This whole issue started in 2014 in Dete. I always knew deep down that the child was not mine. That is why I pushed for a DNA test,” Nyathi said. Nyathi claimed his former partner, Cynthia Dube, initially resisted requests for testing, which he said increased his suspicions.

 

 

“She kept refusing when I asked for DNA. That alone raised suspicion,” he said. According to Nyathi, he eventually paid approximately US$450 himself to conduct the DNA test, which later confirmed another man was the biological father of the child.

 

 

Before the results were released, Nyathi had reportedly paid maintenance for several years, with the amount increasing over time. “I have been paying maintenance for years. It started at US$40, then US$50, then US$60. All that time, I was paying for a child that is not mine,” he said.

 

 

Following the DNA findings, the court ordered Dube to repay US$2,500 within seven days. However, she reportedly told the court she did not have the financial means to raise the money within the specified period.

 

 

Dube said she met Nyathi while she was already involved in another relationship and later moved in with him after problems with her partner. According to her account, she was already pregnant at the time, and the relationship with Nyathi eventually collapsed, leading to disputes over maintenance payments.

 

 

She also stated that although she eventually agreed to the DNA test, delays in carrying out the process extended the dispute for several years. Nyathi said he was not immediately pursuing enforcement of the repayment order but warned he could return to court if the money was not refunded. “If I don’t get it, I will eventually take it back

to court,” he said.