A traditional court in Shamva, Mashonaland Central Province, has ordered a woman to compensate her husband with a beast following allegations that she infected him with HIV during an extramarital relationship.
Chief Nyamaropa, born Munyaradzi Tivange, made the ruling during proceedings aired by Zimquick Television on YouTube on 15 September 2026.
The matter involved a woman who was reportedly married under a polygamous arrangement and a neighbouring man, who was also said to be in a polygamous marriage. The two were accused of having an intimate relationship.
According to the chief, the alleged affair resulted in the woman infecting her husband with HIV.
“Your wife did not have sex with this man once but several times,” Chief Nyamaropa said. “And your wife, I want her to pay in the form of a live beast as well because she infected you with HIV.”
The woman was not present when the ruling was delivered.
The chief also ordered the man accused of having an affair with the woman to pay four beasts to the woman’s husband as compensation for the alleged affair.
However, no medical evidence was presented during the televised proceedings to prove that the woman transmitted HIV to her husband.
Simply establishing that two people are living with HIV does not, on its own, prove who infected whom. Determining the source or direction of HIV transmission can require medical and epidemiological evidence, and in some cases it may not be possible to establish this with certainty.
The case has also drawn attention because Zimbabwe removed the criminal offence specifically targeting wilful HIV transmission from its laws in 2022.
Before the repeal, Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act provided for criminalisation of the deliberate transmission or exposure of another person to HIV.
The Shamva proceedings have therefore raised questions about the treatment of HIV-related allegations within customary justice systems, particularly where compensation is ordered despite the absence of publicly presented medical evidence.
There was also no confirmation during the proceedings that the husband had tested positive for HIV.
Despite this, Chief Nyamaropa advised him to undergo HIV testing and, if found positive, seek treatment with antiretroviral medication.
He also explained the importance of the HIV window period, encouraged continued testing and advised the man to seek counselling.
The recommendations on testing and treatment are consistent with standard public-health approaches to HIV. However, the proceedings did not publicly establish either the husband’s HIV status or whether his wife was the source of any possible infection.