A Harare woman is reportedly sharing her bed with her three sons who are all over 20 years following a house wrangle with her estranged husband. This emerged at the Harare Civil Court on Thursday when Susan Chikumene made an application for a protection order against her husband of 37 years, Wilbert Chikumene.

The couple is legally married and has six children and six grandchildren.

"All along I was staying in a company house. But we later bought another house in Kuwadzana Extension with my husband," Mrs Chikumene said.

"I left my employment and they asked me to vacate the company house. My husband stays at our plot in Chivhu, but is denying me access to the Kuwadzana house.

"He hired tenants at our three-roomed house and he is telling the tenants not to look for alternative accommodation because he says I have no right to be at the house."

Mrs Chikumene revealed that she was sleeping on the same bed with her three sons who are all over 20 years.

"We managed to break into one of the rooms where he keeps his property which we took outside," she said.

"He is violent and I lost some of my teeth because of him. We have several cases at this court.

"I also contributed towards the purchase of this house and now that I am retired I want to stay at my house."

Responding to his wife's application Mr Chikumene denied barring her from their house.

"I have no problem with her staying at the house, but I only told her that she should give the tenants adequate notice to vacate," he said.

Magistrate Ms Miriam Banda ordered Mr Chikumene to stop chasing his wife from the Kuwadzana house.