A 27-YEAR old man of Lusaka’s Kabanana Township has told the Matero Local Court how his wife married another man while she was away for traditional marriage counselling.
Christian Banda sued his wife, Rebecca Mbewe, for divorce on allegations of infidelity.
Banda explained to magistrate Lewis Mumba that their marital problems began soon after they eloped and later formalised their union.
He said his wife’s former boyfriends frequently called her late at night, even after she suffered a miscarriage, and that attempts to change SIM cards did not stop the calls.
Banda testified that he sent his wife to her aunt in Chisamba for counselling and paid for the service, but she failed to return after the promised two weeks.
He said he sent her money several times to facilitate her return, only to later discover that she had married a charcoal producer in Chisamba for about 10 days.
The man was reportedly already married to a pregnant woman in another town.
According to Banda, his wife eventually returned home after the charcoal producer’s legal wife confronted them.
He said their marital differences persisted, and when they sought intervention from her parents, his father-in-law assaulted him and his sister, while his wife hurled insults at them.
In her defence, Mbewe told the court that Banda was divorcing her because he had impregnated another woman.
She agreed to the divorce but argued that their problems stemmed from the way they met, saying Banda failed to follow proper marriage procedures.
She added that he stopped being caring after they eloped.
In his ruling, magistrate Mumba dissolved the marriage without compensation, stating that the union could not continue where families from both sides were not united.
Source: Zambia Daily Mail