THE mouth of a 32 year old man of Lusaka’s Zamastone Shanty Compound has landed him in court after he ignored his ancestors’ saying, “think before you speak,” by spewing insults at his landlady, a woman old enough to be his mother.
This is in a matter where 56 year old Regina Chanda sued her neighbour and tenant, Misheck Mabo, in the Matero Local Court for compensation for insults.
As heard before the court, the source of Misheck’s trouble was his mouth, which, instead of using it to sing along to Chile One’s songs, he was using it to chant ungodly hymns against Regina.
Regina told the court that Misheck had a tendency of marinating her in a bowl of unpalatable language each time she tried to advise him to live in harmony with his wife.
She explained that one of the high-grade insults that still hurts her soul to date was the one concerning her private parts after Misheck told her to shave, making it seem as though she had a bushy private area that only needed the barbering services of John General’s barber.
Like a university student who usually has music for lunch, Misheck would fume at his landlady with ear-perforating insults that would even shock the country’s master of insults, Why Me, every time he paid his rent.
She said there was a time Misheck even pontificated (pontadi) that the landlady depended on his rental money instead of focusing on other businesses.
Regina also shared with the court that she has had no peace at her own residence due to the fights that happen between Misheck and his wife and, like a loving mother, she tries to settle their disputes.
However, it is that same interference that Misheck told the court he does not like from his landlady, whom he said does not mind her own business.
The court heard that Misheck’s temper would also boil to about 90 degrees Celsius, like the scorching heat in Chirundu and Luangwa in October, whenever he saw Easterners in the form of rats appearing in his house, acts he said were a result of the landlady’s witchcraft.
“He fights with his wife a lot, and each time I try to stop them, he likes saying, ‘Go and shave. If your mother never taught you how to do it, learn.’ I’m wondering, your honour, how he thinks I don’t shave when he has never seen me naked,” she said.
“He also claims that I’m a witch and that I send rats to his house. Not a day passes that this man does not insult me.”
In his defence, Misheck stated that his insults were directed at the rats that roamed his living room at night looking for tomatoes.
He also wondered how his arguments with his wife would affect a neighbour when he was a Zambian citizen with a National Registration Card and had every right to express himself in whatever manner he deemed fit.
But the court reminded him that even freedom of expression has limits if it is not exercised in a respectful manner.
Magistrate Harriet Mulenga fumed at the man, saying such behaviour was uncalled for, especially considering that Regina was old enough to be his mother.
The court reminded him that every elderly woman should be regarded and respected as a mother, regardless of blood relations.
Magistrate Mulenga then ordered Misheck to compensate Regina Chanda with K5,000 as a way of teaching him a lesson and deterring him from engaging in similar behaviour in future.
“How can you say you were insulting rats? So you mean rats shave? You are very disrespectful. Who told you she does not shave? How did you know that? You should be ashamed of yourself,” Magistrate Mulenga said.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, June 8, 2026