SICK AND TIRED
An 80-year-old Peleng East village leader and pensioner, Zantas Diphoko, has taken his decades-long family dispute to court, seeking a restraining order barring his wife and two grown sons from entering the matrimonial yard.
The octogenarian, who is a Headman of Arbitration in Peleng East, appeared before the Lobatse Magistrate Court last Thursday, complaining that he had had enough of conflict, insults and alleged attacks from members of his own family.
But his wife of 40 years, Martha Diphoko, and the two sons, Ofentse and Bokang Ngwenya, accused the elderly man of allegedly abusing and attacking them.
The bitter dispute left the court hearing allegations and counter-allegations of physical attacks, insults, family fights and a troubled marriage that appears to have reached breaking point.
Diphoko claimed that his wife often joined forces with her sons against him. He said the sons regularly involved themselves in disagreements between him and his wife, turning ordinary family discussions into confrontations.
He claimed that one of the sons had recently attempted to attack him with an axe. He pleaded with the court to issue a restraining order preventing the trio from coming anywhere near his house.
“Ga ke ba batle ko game,” he later shouted as he left the courtroom, making it clear that he no longer wanted them at the matrimonial home. His wife, however, told the court that she had also been living without peace in the marriage.
Martha said she was often thrown out of the matrimonial bedroom and her clothes and belongings moved to the bedroom of Diphoko's grown children.
The woman, who has since moved to her other home in Molapowabojang, further revealed nursing injuries to her head after allegedly being struck with a pot by her husband.
Diphoko did not deny that there had been physical confrontations in the family, but accused his wife of also threatening him. He told the court that Martha had at times allegedly attempted to pour boiling water on him.
The couple, who married in 1986 in community of property, have now spent four decades together, but their union has been rocked by accusations that have drawn their entire family into the conflict.
Diphoko told the court that Ofentse and Bokang were young when he adopted them. He said he had supported them and played a role in raising them into the men they are today.
However, he said their relationship had since deteriorated, with the two now allegedly turning against him. The two sons denied insulting or abusing their father.
They said they did not live at the matrimonial home full-time and only visited their mother and family. According to them, Diphoko was often the one who insulted and attacked them without any reason.
They claimed that even when they entered the yard simply to visit, they could be met with insults from their father.
The family members maintained that they were not responsible for the abuse alleged by Diphoko and instead accused him of mistreating them. After listening to both sides, the presiding magistrate declined to grant Diphoko the restraining order he had requested.
The magistrate said restraining orders were meant for cases involving excessive abuse and advised the family to seek counselling in an attempt to resolve their deepening domestic problems.
The court's decision did little to calm Diphoko. As he walked out of the courtroom, the elderly village leader continued to voice his frustration, loudly declaring that he did not want his family at his home. When speaking to The Midweek Sun, he also accused his wife of being a gold digger, claiming that she had once left him for a bus driver before later returning to ask for forgiveness when the other man's money was finished.
The accusations did not end there. Diphoko further accused Martha of wanting to kill him, adding another layer to the long list of claims exchanged between the couple.
Outside court, the division within the family was plain to see. Diphoko left the court alone on foot while his wife and the two sons departed together in a vehicle.
The 80-year-old was seen walking away while still speaking loudly to himself, apparently unhappy with the court's decision.