By SARAH TEMBO –
A twent nine-year-old woman of Lusaka’s Garden Township has refused to reconcile with her husband who allegedly contracted a sexual transmitted infection and enrolled on treatment without her knowledge.
Emma Siamaleli, who is now on separation with her spouse, said she could not reconcile with her husband Brian Mwape, 34, because he changes women like clothes.
This was in a case where Mwape sued Siamaleli for divorce. Mwape had previously sued for reconciliation but was advised to file for divorce after Siamaleli refused to reconcile.
Mwape said his wife called him a dog seven years ago and had not apologised despite being advised to do so.
He said although he had been accused of behaving like a dog, he vowed to live with Siamaleli as his wife because he loved her.
However, Mwape told the court that he was surprised that his wife decided to leave the matrimonial home in July this year after the couple had a marital dispute.
He said he was also shocked to note that Siamaleli was wearing an engagement ring within three months the two had been on separation while efforts to get her on phone were failing because she had stopped picking his calls.
“My wife refused to reconcile with me, hence suing her for divorce but I still love her if only she can apologise for calling me a dog seven years ago, I will forgive her and take her back,” he said.
But Siamaleli told the court that she did not want to reconcile with Mwape because she has gone through psychological trauma since she got married to him.
She accused her husband of being a womaniser who had at one point been put on STI treatment without the knowledge of the wife.
She said she only discovered that her husband was sick when she noticed some sores on his private parts.
Siamaleli said her husband used to chat with other women in her presence and later started drinking sex pills without her consent.
She said her husband further stopped supporting the family and when she provided for the children he accused her of being promiscuous.
The matter has since been adjourned to October 1, this year for judgment.

‘Increase damage charges,  Lusaka man asks court’

By SARAH TEMBO
A man of Lusaka’s Misisi Township has asked a local court to increase the compensation for damage he had asked because the man has refused to marry his niece.
Lottie Zimba, 49, had asked Dumisani Tembo, 23, to pay K1,500 as compensation for impregnating his niece. Zimba said the amount was arrived at on the basis that Tembo would ultimately marry the plaintiff’s niece.
However, the court heard that after the woman delivered, Tembo changed his mind, a situation that has infuriated Zimba and forced him to seek court intervention to recover more compensation for damage.
This was a case in which Zimba sued Tembo for compensation for damage after he allegedly refused to marry his niece he impregnated.
Zimba told the court that his family was lenient with Tembo when charging for damage because they thought he would have to pay dowry for marriage.
“We charged him less money for damage because he promised that he was going to marry our daughter. But now that he is saying that he won’t marry her but will only pay for damage then he can’t pay us K1,500 because it was just too little,” he said.
In his defence, Tembo told the court that he did not promise to marry Zimba’s niece as alleged by the complainant.
He claimed that it was in fact Zimba and other members of his family who were forcing him to marry their daughter after he impregnated her.
Tembo told the court that when Zimba’s niece gave birth he tried to stay with her but it never worked hence making it difficult for him to live with her for the rest of his life as his wife.
The one month I stayed with her was hell and spending the rest of my life with her is like digging my own grave. I told her family that I will pay the damage I was ordered to pay and will keep supporting the child since it is mine,” he said.
The case was adjourned to the October 2, 2014 for judgment.

Woman sues cousin for burrying nephew

By MWANGALA LISELI
A WOMAN of Lusaka’s Mandevu Township has sued her cousin for allegedly authorising the burial of her son while she was away in South Africa.
Christine Mumbi, 50, said she will not forgive Rachael Kunda, 55, for giving a green light to bury her son even when she had been advised to wait until she came back.
This was a case in which Mumbi sued Kunda to seek explanation as why she authorised the burial of a child who was not hers.
Mumbi told the court that she was in South Africa seeking employment when she learnt that her son had died. She said she asked Kunda not to proceed with the burial until she returned.
However, she said she was shocked when she came back to find that her son had been buried in her absence.
Mumbi told the court that she felt offended when Kunda told her that it was her fault because she had left the children alone when she was going to South Africa.
“She is my cousin but I can’t forgive her for what she did. Only God will forgive her and not me,” she said.
However, Kunda denied having authorised the burial but said Mumbi’s brother and sister were the ones that gave the go ahead.
She however told the court that she had advised Mumbi against going to Johannesburg because her children would remain alone but was shocked when she heard she had left.
Kunda told the court that since her cousin had left, she was the one who had been caring and providing for her niece and nephews.
She said she was very shocked that her cousin could accuse her so unjustly and said she was not ready to reconcile with her because the accusations had ended their relationship.
Senior Magistrates Miyanda Banda and Grace Kanta said the reconciliation had failed as both were not willing to settle the matter amicably.
The court advised the two to settle their differences as they were a family and should continue helping and advising each other.

‘Shylock’ drags partner to court

By MWANGALA LISELI
A MAN of Lusaka’s Kamwala Township has taken his business partner to court to recover K2,000 debt after allegedly running away.
Sishekenu Lisimba, 36, said his friend Dickson Mulima, 65, had earlier borrowed K500 from him with a promise to pay back with interest.
Lisimba told the Lusaka Boma Local court that Mulima later went back to ask for another K1,000 with a pledge of returning K2,250 which he did not honour.
He said after some time of waiting, he decided to approach Mulima to remind him to settle the debt but was shocked to discover that the defendant had shifted his offices to an unknown place.
Lisimba said he looked for the company and when he located it, he found Mulima who committed to pay K3,000 instead of the earlier K2,250 because of the long period that had passed since he borrowed the cash.
He told the court that Mulima agreed to pay him K200 per month which he did for five months continuously until July when he said he could not continue paying because he was having financial constraints.
“He was paying me K200 every month since January until July when he said he had financial problems because his company was not doing well but would pay me when things got better,” Lisimba said. Mulima agreed owing Lisimba and said he would pay back all the money after he sorted out his financial problems.
He said he would manage to start paying Mulima at the month end of October this year with a monthly installment of K250.
But Senior Magistrate Grace Kanta sitting with Senior Magistrate Miyanda Banda told Mulima to pay Lisimba K500 at the October month end and K300 every month.

Mother-in-law in soup over interference

By CHATULA KAMPO
A TWENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD woman of Ndola has sued her mother-in-law for marriage interference after she allegedly asked her son to divorce her.
Petronella Mwewa sued Veronica Mufu, 51, of Pamodzi Township after she allegedly declared that the marriage between the couple had ended.
Mwewa told Ndola Local Magistrates Sarah Bwalya, Dismas Katampi and Rosemary Muke that she was currently living alone because her mother-in-law had taken away her husband.
“This woman does not want us to be together. She has been coming to our house to say she had put a barrier on our marriage and that we are not going anywhere with this marriage,” she told the court.
“Later, my husband moved to his mother’s house after I had an argument with him concerning his promiscuity.”
She pleaded with the court to ask her in-law to immediately release her husband who was also in court so that they could reunite.
However, Mufu denied interfering with the marriage of her son saying she did not know what was happening in the couple’s marriage.
Mufu, who admitted that she was currently staying with her son, told the court that she did not know why he had deserted his matrimonial house to stay with her.
She told the court that she had not interfered in her son’s marriage in anyway although she noted that she could not force him to go back and reunite with Mwewa.
“I cannot force him to go back to his wife’s house. It’s is up to him to go back. My daughter-in-law has been coming to my house to insult me and ask me to release her husband,” she said.
The court however, adjourned the case and ordered the complainant to either sue for reconciliation or divorce.

Violence leads woman to conceive outside wedlock

By CHATULA KAMPO
A NDOLA Local Court has heard how a 36-year-old married woman got pregnant from another man in order to be divorced by her violent husband.
Liness Mumba of Pamodzi Township told Magistrate Sarah Bwalya who was sitting with Magistrates Dismus Katampi and Rosemary Muke that she left her husband house and got pregnant from another man because of violence.
Mumba told the court that her husband, Given Ngoma aged, 61, had been abusing her and that she could not continue staying with him.
She claimed her husband was threatening to kill her after he heard that she was pregnant for another man whenever they meet.
“I do not want this man anymore. I do not like the way he treats me, that is why I decided to leave his house and get pregnant from another man,” she said.
Mumba was testifying in a case in which she sued Ngoma for divorce because of the alleged abuse she had suffered.
Interestingly, the court heard that the couple had only been married for one year and did not have children together.
In his defence, Ngoma refused to divorce his wife and told the court that all what he wanted was to know the person who impregnated her.
Mumba told the court that she could not accept to reconcile with her husband who had two other wives and had a bad behaviour.
Magistrate Bwalya however, urged the defendant to accept the divorce and give the complainant the freedom which she wanted.
She granted divorce to the couple without ordering compensation.