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Tsvangirai reaches out-of-court pact with ex-lover

Tsvangirai has publicly apologised for the affairs with the two women, saying he had no intention to hurt them.

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has reached an out-of-court settlement with an ex-lover whom he dumped to marry another woman, a lawyer said on Thursday.

Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo had gone to a civil court demanding US $15,000 per month in maintenance payments from Tsvangirai following his marriage to Elizabeth Macheka, but withdrew the case after accepting an undisclosed one-off payment.

"The matter has been resolved amicably," Tembo's lawyer Everson Samukange told AFP.

"The prime minister agreed to pay a lump sum for my client's maintenance but I do not have instructions to divulge the figure. All I can tell you is that both parties are happy with the arrangement.

A previous attempt to reach an out of court settlement failed.

The state-owned Herald newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said Tembo had demanded a $500,000 lump sum and three oxen while Tsvangirai insisted he could only pay her $200,000.

Tsvangirai's monthly salary is unclear, but the average wage for a cabinet minister in Zimbabwe is about $900.

Tsvangirai has publicly apologised for the affairs with the two women, saying he had no intention to hurt them.

His first wife of 31 years, Susan, was killed in a car accident in March 2009, just weeks after he went into a unity government with his long-time rival President Robert Mugabe following failed elections in 2008.

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