Abused Zimbabwe Man Claims Wife Beat, Terrorised Him
'I was too embarrassed to admit that my finger was chewed off by my wife and so I went to the hospital and told them and other people that I was involved in an accident'
WASHINGTON DC — A Zimbabwean man has revealed that he abandoned his marriage after he endured serious domestic abuse in the hands of his violent former wife, who bit off one of his fingers and forced him to leave the matrimonial home. Relating his story in the Voice of America’s Zimbabwe Service LiveTalk Radio on Television call-in program on Thursday evening focusing on challenges faced by women and children, the man who identified himself as Francis claimed that he did not report his case to the police in order to save his marriage. Francis, who left Zimbabwe for South Africa after he was kicked out of the matrimonial home, said, “My wife bit off the finger in one of her violent acts and terrorized me beyond imagination thereafter. “I was too embarrassed to admit that my finger was bitten off by my wife. So, I went to the hospital and told them and other people that I was involved in an accident. The sad story is that when I got to the hospital the finger could not be repaired.” Francis, perhaps the first Zimbabwean man to make this admission live on air, claimed that he stayed at home for three months after losing his finger and struggled to adjust due to his disabled hand. “now that I had this disability that I had kept to myself without going to the police, she went a step further through brutalizing me in many ways and at last she told me to leave the matrimonial home saying she was no longer in love with me. “Our children (one of them disabled) suffered and I am still tormented by what happened to me. I thought of sharing this story with everyone so that people will know that men are not the only perpetrators of domestic violence.” We were unable to contact his former wife, who is believed to be now staying with another man in Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo. For more information about this issue follow this link: