A 27-year-old man of Lusaka’s Kabanana Township has shocked the Matero Local Court after revealing that his wife allegedly married another man while she was away for traditional marriage counselling.
Christian Banda dragged his wife, Rebecca Mbewe, to the Matero Local Court seeking divorce on grounds of infidelity, claiming that their marriage became unbearable shortly after they eloped and later formalised their union.
Appearing before Magistrate Lewis Mumba, Banda explained that the problems began when his wife’s former boyfriends allegedly continued calling her late at night, even after she suffered a miscarriage. He told the court that despite changing SIM cards, the calls did not stop.
Banda testified that in an effort to resolve the issues, he sent his wife to her aunt in Chisamba for marriage counselling and paid for the service. However, she reportedly failed to return after the agreed two-week period.
He said he sent her money several times to help her return home, only to later discover that she had allegedly married a charcoal producer in Chisamba and stayed in that marriage for about 10 days.
Banda further told the court that the man his wife married was reportedly already married to another woman who was pregnant and living in another town.
According to Banda, his wife only returned home after the charcoal producer’s legal wife confronted them.
He said marital differences continued even after her return, and when they later sought intervention from her parents, Banda claimed his father-in-law assaulted him and his sister, while his wife allegedly insulted them.
In her defence, Rebecca Mbewe told the court that Banda was divorcing her because he had impregnated another woman. She agreed to the divorce but argued that their marital problems were rooted in the way they met, claiming Banda failed to follow proper marriage procedures.
Mbewe also told the court that Banda stopped being caring after they eloped.
In his ruling, Magistrate Lewis Mumba dissolved the marriage without compensation, stating that the relationship could not continue in a situation where both families were not united.
Source: Zambia Daily Mail