BY SERAH TEMBO-
A TWENTY-YEAR-OLD woman of Lusaka’s Zingalume Township has divorced her husband because she did not want to stay in a polygamous marriage.
She said though she loved her husband so much, she vowed never to stay in a polygamous marriage.
This was in a case were Raelly Phiri sued her husband Joseph Kaonga 31, for divorce after he decided to marry a second wife.
Facts before the court were that the two got married in 2008 and have two children together but problems in their marriage started shortly after they got married.
Phiri told the court that her husband decided to go to Malawi against her will when she was nine months pregnant.
She told the court that she decided to go and stay with her parents since her pregnancy was due and could not stay in the house alone.
She said to her surprise, she failed to give birth at nine months and in the eleventh month she decided to confront her husband who reviewed to her that he had married another woman who he was staying with while in Malawi.
“My husband told me that he was going to Malawi to visit his relatives, but to my surprise he came back with another woman who he claimed to be his long time lover.
“The day he admitted of having another woman in the house was the day I managed to give birth,” she said.
In his defence, Kaonga admitted having married another woman and told the court that it was up to his wife to accept a polygamous marriage or not.
He told the court that he was not ready to do away with his new wife hence if Phiri had made up her mind to let go of their marriage there was nothing he could do.
He continued that he married another woman because his wife did not understood the kind of job he was doing.
“I am a bus driver but whenever I come home late she used to lock me out and I would spend nights in my car,” he said.
Passing judgment, magistrate Lewis Mumba sitting with Petronella Kalyelye granted the two divorce.
Kaonga was also ordered to compensate his wife with K6,000 and custody of the two children was given to the mother and was ordered to be maintaining them with K300 per month.