Castel Malawi Limited managing director Thomas Reynaud has been dragged to court for alleged involvement in an adulterous relationship with a married woman.

He has been sued after efforts by the aggrieved party to resolve the matter out of court proved futile, according to correspondence Weekend Nation has seen.

The Castel boss is alleged to have intentionally committed adultery with Taleetha Bowler whom he knew was married to Rick Bowler, operations director of Bowler Beverages Company Limited.

The complainant, through his lawyers from Ritz Attorneys at Law, has asked the High Court of Malawi (Family and Probate Division) to order Reynaud to pay him general and aggravated or exemplary damages for disrupting his marriage and family in accordance with Section 23 of the Divorce Act.

He is further asking the court to dissolve his marriage, be granted full custody of their three children aged nine, eight and three; order them (Rick and Taleetha) to pay maintenance for the children, distribute any matrimonial property and be granted costs of the proceedings on an indemnity basis.

Lawyers battling in court: Gondwe (L) and Njobvu

The Bowlers have been lawfully married since March 11 2011 when they registered their marriage with the Office of the Registrar General.

In the petition for divorce dated October 13 2023, in which Taleetha is the respondent and Reynaud the co-respondent, Rick alleges he lived with Taleetha as a happily married couple at their matrimonial residence in Blantyre until May 2023.

However, at the end August 2023 Taleetha decided to move out of their matrimonial home to work on perceived marital problems.

Rick claims that since Taleetha moved out of their matrimonial home, she had been spending some nights at Reynaud’s residence at Kabula suburb in Blantyre and the co-respondent “has not denied having the affair”.

“He has admitted that he is very close to the respondent and that the respondent spent a night at his house. He has also admitted knowing and not caring about the respondent’s married status. He has demonstrated arrogance and lack of sympathy.

“The respondent is protective of the co-respondent. During a meeting with ankhoswe on September 26 2023 she pleaded with the petitioner not to take any action against the co-respondent regarding the affair and threatened dissolution of the marriage if the petitioner dared to involve the co-respondent,” reads part of the petition.

Further, the petition indicates that on July 26 2023 Taleetha allegedly took a suspicious work trip to South Africa and gave her husband a very short notice while refusing to disclose details about the trip, including accommodation.

Reads the petition: “The petitioner went to the airport on the day of the respondent’s return from the suspicious trip. She was not in the company of her workmates and acted defensively and uncharacteristically.”

Before filing the suit, Rick’s lawyers wrote the headquarters of Castel Group in France and the board chairperson of Castel Malawi Limited complaining about Reynaud’s alleged interference in his marriage. They also wrote Reynaud’s private lawyer Davis Njobvu.

In one of the letters dated October 4 2023 and addressed to Castel Group president Pierre Castel and Castel Malawi Limited board chairperson Gil Martginac, Rick complained about Reynaud’s “gross misconduct”.

The letter claimed that Rick and Reynaud met on September 25 2023 at the latter’s office in Blantyre where the accused justified his close relationship with Taleetha as a “cultural norm” in his home country [France] such that there was nothing wrong because the woman consented to the affair with him.

“He expressed no sympathy or remorse towards our client. Instead, he criticised our client for choosing to have the meeting at his place of work instead of at a social setting like a bar.

“As Mr Reynaud is in Malawi on account of employment with Castel, this matter is reported to you for your action as in such circumstances, you have a duty as part of your society to protect the family from conduct like Mr Reynaud’s,” reads the letter which was received on their behalf by Chipiliro Kauka, Castel Malawi Limited’s head of legal and company secretary.

In the letter dated October 9 2023 and addressed to Njobvu, Rick demanded K500 million for the harm Reynaud allegedly occasioned on him after causing the irretrievable breakdown of his marriage.

In justifying the claimed damages, Rick said he had been traumatised, lost numerous marital interests and was also under emotional stress.    

“As a businessman, he has become so distracted from management of his economic affairs as such he can hardly concentrate. He is going through excruciating mental anguish,” partly reads the letter.

In an interview yesterday, one of Rick’s lawyers Lusungu Gondwe while confirming filing the suit declined to further comment on the matter.

He said: “We have no instructions to speak to the press. So, it would be grossly unethical for us to say anything without express or implied instructions from our client.”

Kauka was not available when contacted yesterday but on his part, Njobvu said he would not comment unless instructed by his client.

“The matter has now been taken to court so I haven’t even seen the court documents so I wouldn’t want to comment on anything until I have seen those documents,” he said.

Reynaud’s case comes a year after the Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court fined former Castel Malawi Limited managing director Herve Milhade K1 million being found guilty of cultivating Indian hemp (chamba) at his residence’s backyard.

Fifty-nine plants of the hemp weighing 45 kilogrammes were found and forfeited pursuant to Section 17(6) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Reynaud replaced Milhade in November last year after the latter was deployed to Ethiopia to head BGI, a subsidiary of Castel Group.

Castel Malawi Limited is the leading producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages such as Castel and Carlsberg beer in Malawi.

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