A 41-year-old man of Lusaka’s Chilenje Township has been jailed for a month for fracturing his wife’s finger after he assaulted her in rage for asking for more money to buy candles.
Emmanuel Mulenga beat his wife after he learnt that the money he initially gave her to buy groceries had been exhausted and she needed more cash to buy a candle to light the house and put the baby to sleep.
Before sending Mulenga to jail, Lusaka resident magistrate Mutinta Mwenya rebuked the security guard for being abusive to his spouse, Hildah Chilekwa, 31.
“Why would you harm the person you love over money? Real men don’t inflict pain on women. You hear me?” magistrate Mwenya said, as the convict replied “yes”.
“You will end up hurting her one day and she will die and you will end up in court for murder. That is why you should not be too emotional,” she counselled the convict.
Magistrate Mwenya said since the convict was a first offender and did not waste the court’s time by readily pleading guilty, she would exercise leniency.
“I will give you 30 days imprisonment. Please, refrain from using your hands [on women] whether you paid Lobola [dowry] or not.
“Do not harm your wife. Tell your friends also when you come out [of prison],” magistrate Mwenya told the convict.
Outside court, a distraught Ms Chilekwa complained about the jailing of her husband, who is supposed to give her money to pay rentals, which are due.
Mulenga was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which can attract up to five years imprisonment.
Zambia Daily Mail
