HARARE – Late cabinet minister, Joel Biggie Matiza’s son has been dragged to the High Court of Zimbabwe over the custody of a 14-month-old baby, after a Harare woman challenged a divorce ruling that granted shared custody between her and her former husband.
Kernisha Sheila Hunzwi filed an urgent application seeking to suspend the existing custody arrangement pending a court review of the terms agreed during her divorce from Batsirai Junior Matiza.
Matiza is the son of the late former Transport Minister and Mashonaland East Governor Joel Biggie Matiza who died on 22 January 2021, at the age of 60, due to COVID-19 complications.
Court documents gleaned by this publication show that the couple’s divorce was finalised on 12 February 2026 under a consent order, which included an agreement for a joint custody.
The arrangement requires the child to alternate between both parents on a weekly basis.
However, Ms Hunzwi now argues that the agreement was signed under duress and does not serve the best interests of the child.
In her application, Hunzwi told the court that the infant who is still breastfeeding is forced onto artificial feeding during periods spent with the father which she claims could be dangerous to the child’s health.
She also raised concerns about the care provided during those periods, alleging that Matiza is often absent and leaves the child in the care of a domestic worker.
Hunzwi further alleges that she faced intimidation during the divorce process and was unable to freely participate in the divorce proceedings.
Hunzwi claimed that she was escorted to Sam Levy Village and forced to sign court documents and was denied access to her legal representatives during the process.
“I was under much pressure that I could not exercise independent judgment,” she said in her affidavit, adding that she was also made to sign a waiver of rights.
The dispute escalated earlier this month when, according Hunzwi, Matiza indicated he intended to enforce the existing custody order despite what she described as a prior understanding to temporarily suspend it.
Hunzwi’s legal practitioners says this prompted urgent action to protect the child’s welfare and wellbeing.
“It is in the best interests of justice that this matter be dealt with on an urgent basis as special circumstances exist,” her lawyers said in court filings.
Hunzwi is now seeking a variation of the custody terms, arguing that a weekly alternating schedule is unsuitable for a breastfeeding infant and the Court should be reconsider the move.
The case underscores the complexities of custody arrangements involving very young children, particularly where questions of care, consent and parental responsibility arise.
The High Court of Zimbabwe is expected to rule on the urgent application, a decision that could determine immediate custody arrangements while the broader legal challenge proceeds.
Matiza is yet to respond to the application.
