HARARE –The High Court has ordered Harare businessman Murombo Josiah Mimana to pay his estranged wife US$11,726 per month in maintenance, along with 80 percent of her legal fees, after finding that he has the financial means to meet the obligation.
Delivering the judgment on 9 October 2025, Justice Fatima Maxwell ruled that Mimana’s wife, Marvel Mtisi, had successfully demonstrated that she was financially dependent on her husband and that her divorce case had “reasonable prospects of success.”
“The application for maintenance pendente lite and contribution towards costs be and is hereby granted,” Justice Maxwell ruled. “The respondent shall contribute 80 percent of the applicant’s legal costs, to be determined at the conclusion of the matter.”
Mtisi, who has eight children with Mimana, said her husband abandoned the family home in March 2024 after 24 years of marriage. She told the court that he had been paying US$20,000 monthly towards family expenses until February 2025, when he suddenly stopped.
The court heard that Mtisi is unemployed and excluded from managing their jointly owned companies, despite holding a 50 percent shareholding. She accused Mimana of running the businesses — which include a Jet A1 fuel supply firm operating at major airports and a lucrative mining venture — as his “personal cash cow,” asserting that the entities could easily sustain the family’s expenses and legal costs.
In his defence, Mimana denied personally paying the monthly allowance, claiming the funds came from a company account and that Mtisi had misused the money. He argued that halting the payments did not affect the family’s welfare because he continued to cover school fees and airfares for their children.
However, Justice Maxwell rejected his arguments, noting that evidence before the court clearly showed that Mtisi had no independent source of income and that Mimana exercised total control over the businesses.
“The bottom line is that the applicant does not have any source of income except the contribution she was getting,” the judge said. “The respondent has not disputed that he is unilaterally running and controlling the company and that the US$20,000 was being paid on his behalf.”
Mtisi had initially claimed US$21,936 per month, but the court reduced the figure after removing non-essential items such as private transport, pocket money, and car maintenance.
Justice Maxwell said the final award of US$11,726 was fair and reflective of the couple’s standard of living during the marriage.
“The request for contribution to legal costs cannot be said to be without merit,” she added. “The respondent is in a position to contribute personally or through his company.”
The court also dismissed Mimana’s procedural challenge against his wife’s affidavit, describing it as “a desperate attempt to avoid the merits of the case.”
Mimana is required to start paying the maintenance from February 2025 until the divorce case (HCHF 1566/25) is finalised.
The dispute revolves around the dissolution of their 24-year customary union and the division of substantial assets, including 44 fuel tankers, tipper trucks, commercial stands, and two major companies involved in mining and fuel distribution.
