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AS the country dedicated the long weekend to celebrating late independence icon Dr Kenneth Kaunda as well as the importance of the Zambian workers, an appreciative wife of Kafue and her family chose to fete her husband for his unrivaled love, honesty, generosity and dedication to married life.
According to Elizabeth Mutale, for 16 long years, Jeff Mwitumwa has been that perfect husband – no cheating, no wife battering and baby mama drama. Just a romantic, caring man who understands and tries his level best to play his role.
While acknowledging that like many other couples, she has had her share of ups and downs, Elizabeth says she chooses to concentrate on the good times.
In fact had Elizabeth known what a loving husband Jeff would turn out to be after they met in 2005, she would not have taken three months to accept his love proposal.
It had to take the collective efforts of Jeff’s persistence, his friends’ lobbying and the push from her sister to finally agree to give the former Mumbwa Secondary School pupil a chance.
But Elizabeth was almost giving up on the relationship when three years passed and there was no sign of her and Jeff saying; “I do” to each other.
But as fate would have it, the two married in a simple and low key wedding at Elizabeth’s family in house in Lusaka’s Zingalume Compound in 2008 – and since then, it has been happily ever after.
The couple now lives in a house of their own in Kafue and have three beautiful daughters aged 14, 9 years and 11 months respectively.
“He’s such a good man, very supportive to me and my family. He’s honest and hardworking. After marriage he even ensured that l went to nursing school and completed,” Elizabeth told #Kalemba in an interview.
Being a cultured Bemba woman, Elizabeth’s best demonstration of her gratitude to Jeff after 16 years of marriage was “Matebeto” – a feast of thankfulness since they say; “the best way to a man’s heart and probably staying there forever, is through his stomach”.
Elizabeth mobilised her family and spent Saturday night and part of Sunday morning fixing a feast of various African cuisine for Jeff and his people with particular care on Litapi (fish), her husband’s favourite.
When all was ready, the taking party took a long drive from Lusaka to Kafue to deliver the Matebeto.
At the house, Jeff donned the royal Lozi garb as he sat on the throne with an “induna” on each side to whisper to him essence of each dish.
As a seasoned civil servant, Jeff had summoned all his friends who he knew had withdrawn their 20 per cent NAPSA benefits to help him silence money-demanding old women tasked with delivering the meals as they sang and beat the African drums.
By the end of the ceremony, Jeff’s kin and kieth as well as friends had rained the ceremony with enough kwacha notes to resuscitate the struggling Kafue Nitrogen Chemicals.
As afternoon gave way for the evening, Jeff’s guests began trooping out of his yard but not without a full belly or encouragement to be a good spouse.
The day had been a beautiful treat of delicious food in an atmosphere punctuated by Bemba and Lozi traditions.
Story and pictures by Salim Dawood
Kalemba May 2, 2023
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