By A Correspondent | The Great Escape: A Bride’s Wedding Night Elopement Sparks Drama and Courtroom Battles

In the quiet suburbs of Bulawayo, a wedding meant to symbolize eternal love turned into a tale of betrayal, revenge, and courtroom drama when a newlywed bride disappeared with her secret lover mere hours after saying “I do.”

Mbongeni Moyo, an elder at the SDA Church, stood beside his radiant bride, Sisasenkosi Mpofu, earlier that day, vowing to cherish her for better or worse. But as twilight gave way to night, “worse” arrived faster than anyone could have imagined. Shortly before 7 p.m. on their wedding night, Mpofu vanished, leaving her stunned husband and guests behind.

She wasn’t missing for long. As it turns out, she had slipped away with her secret lover, Geshom Gwatiringa, a police officer stationed at Hillside Police Station. They spent the evening together, raising glasses of wine and toasting to their ill-fated love in the shadow of her fresh vows.

Moyo, oblivious to his wife’s whereabouts, waited anxiously until Mpofu reappeared close to midnight, knocking on their window. But this wasn’t a scene of regret or apology. Instead, Mpofu, allegedly drunk, boldly addressed her husband:

“Vula umnyango sikhulumisane njengabantu abadala (open the door so we can talk as adults).”

When Moyo let her in, the night unraveled further. She admitted that Gwatiringa had given her wine but claimed she “did not know what happened thereafter.” However, her husband’s suspicions were piqued. Seizing her cellphone, Moyo unearthed messages revealing a secret love affair. In a fit of anger, he took his wife to her family to share the shocking betrayal.

But this was just the beginning.

A Midnight Confrontation

Around 1 a.m., Moyo, joined by his in-laws Allen Munhuru (26), Prosper Ndlovu (33), and Fungai Mpofu, marched to Gwatiringa’s home in Emakhandeni. They found him asleep next to his wife, a detail that added insult to Moyo’s already festering wound. Armed with the incriminating chats, they confronted the policeman and dragged him to Entumbane Police Station, but not before delivering a swift lesson in anger and betrayal.

Using only open hands, the group allegedly struck Gwatiringa in frustration, an assault he later claimed was attempted murder.

Courtroom Drama

The case landed in the Western Commonage Magistrate Court, where Moyo and his in-laws faced attempted murder charges. However, the trial revealed mitigating factors: Gwatiringa admitted to his involvement with Mpofu on her wedding night and failed to provide any evidence of severe injuries. A general medical report showed no serious harm, leading the court to downgrade the charges to assault.

Regional Magistrate Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze highlighted that the provocation by Gwatiringa far outweighed the assault’s aggravating factors. After deliberation, each member of the quartet was fined US$300, with the alternative of six months in jail. A further six months were suspended on the condition that they refrain from committing assault-related offenses for the next five years.

The Bride’s Silence

While the courtroom drama unfolded, the bride at the heart of the scandal remained silent. Her brief disappearance, her confession, and the chaos she left in her wake spoke volumes without her uttering a word.

A Tale of Love, Betrayal, and Consequences

For Moyo, the wedding night was one he would never forget, though not for the reasons he envisioned. The case exposed not only personal heartbreak but also the volatile mix of emotions that betrayal can ignite.

As Moyo and his in-laws leave the courtroom, the scars of that night remain, serving as a painful reminder that trust, once broken, rarely mends. For Gwatiringa, the self-proclaimed victim, the incident stands as a lesson in the consequences of entangling oneself in forbidden affairs.

And for Mpofu—the bride who eloped on her wedding night—her silence will forever linger as the loudest part of the story.