Zimbabwe woman fined in court for failing to feed husband best cuts of chicken

GlobalPost

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A Zimbabwean man assaulted his wife and hauled her to the village court for failing to serve him the choicest cuts of chicken for dinner.

Jabulani Ncube, 40, was furious that wife Nomusa Sibanda, 24, had slaughtered a chicken for the evening meal but kept the breast and leg portions for herself, a Zimbabwean newspaper reported. 

According to local traditions, the tastiest parts of a chicken — including the back, breasts and drumsticks — should be reserved for the man of the house.

But Ncube said he was only served a gizzard, wings and one drumstick, and accused his wife of being “uncultured and disrespect­ful," the Sunday News said.

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The village court agreed: the headman of Nkayi, northeast of Bulawayo, last week found Sibanda guilty of contravening local custom, and fined her one chicken. 

Her grandmother, Gogo MaDawu, was also fined a chicken for failing to teach Sibanda "how to treat her husband and dish out meals," the Daily News said.

Ncube warned he would file for divorce if Sibanda failed to respect the “offense."

But according to the newspaper, an unrepentant Sibanda complained: “How long shall I slaughter chick­ens and not taste the back portion?”

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