A married traditional leader from Matabeleland North has been embroiled in a scandal after allegedly pursuing a romantic relationship with a beauty queen, sparking threats from another woman and leaving the model’s reputation in tatters.
Chief Menyezwa stands accused of sending inappropriate WhatsApp messages to Christine Malalazi, the reigning Queen Lupane under the Miss Rural Zimbabwe pageant, despite being a married man. The situation escalated when Bandile Moyo, who claims to be the chief’s girlfriend, confronted Christine with threatening messages and voice notes, accusing her of having an affair.
Christine has firmly denied any romantic involvement, insisting she rejected the chief’s advances and only engaged with him on official matters. She now fears returning to her village, saying false rumours spread by Bandile have destroyed her name and put her own relationship at risk.
WhatsApp screenshots and audio recordings seen by B-Metro appear to back Christine’s claims, showing the chief using affectionate language and asking her to keep their communications private. While the chief initially denied any wrongdoing, he later called Christine to apologise for “the misunderstanding”—but failed to show up for a promised in-person meeting with the newspaper.
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Chief Menyezwa and Christine Malalazi begin communicating, starting with official matters related to her role as Queen Lupane.
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Chief’s advances: The chief later shifts the conversation to romantic interest and begins sending Christine affectionate WhatsApp messages, asking her to keep their relationship private.
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Christine rejects him: Christine repeatedly turns down his advances and insists she never entered into a relationship with him.
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Bandile Moyo contacts Christine: Bandile, who identifies herself as the chief’s girlfriend, reaches out to Christine via messages and voice notes, accusing her of having an affair with the chief and warning her to leave him alone.
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Rumours spread in the village: Bandile tells Christine that people in the village are already talking, and Christine says her reputation is damaged as a result.
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Christine provides evidence to B-Metro: At some point, Christine shows the newspaper screenshots of her chats with the chief and audio messages from Bandile.
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B-Metro contacts the chief for comment: When reached, Chief Menyezwa denies any wrongdoing and dismisses Christine’s claims.
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Chief asks to hold the story: After being told B-Metro has screenshots of his messages, he asks the publication to delay running the story so he can travel to Bulawayo to talk in person.
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Chief does not show up: By the time of publication, he had not arrived.
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Chief calls Christine to apologise: He later phones her to apologise over “the misunderstanding,” but Christine refuses to meet him in person.
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B-Metro publishes the story: The articles are released with the chief and Bandile having both denied or downplayed the allegations.
