Permanent secretary in the ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Pfungwa Kunaka, is under fire for allegedly assaulting his mistress and stepdaughter at his government offices, amid allegations he has over the years used his position as a senior official to get away with similar abuses.
Information gathered by The NewsHawks shows that Rumbidzai Matinyenya has reported the physical abuse numerous times over the years at Harare Central Police Station before being cajoled to drop charges.
Kunaka did not respond to questions sent a fortnight ago. Messages sent on WhatsApp were blue-ticked to show he had read them. He was also not answering calls. Matinyenya alleged she has been abused by Kunaka since after she gave birth to his child.
The attacks occurred at several places, including at the ministry of Finance offices, where he was employed as a senior official before his promotion to Mines permanent secretary last year. She revealed the two have had a relationship since when she was only She was married at the time but was cheating with Kunaka, whom she said pampered her with cash and gifts. I guess I lost my bearing because of the gifts and the promise to marry me. Things were okay between us until when I gave birth to his child.
He suddenly stopped sending my first child to school and stopped paying rent. My child had to drop from a private school and enrol at a government school as a result. He also started physically abusing me; the first time being in March when he hit me with a whip in the ministry of Finance offices. Matinyenya said she reported the assault at Harare Central Police Station, but withdrew charges after he convinced her to do so.
