VICTORIA KASANGA writes
@SunZambian
A woman in Ndola has divorced her husband in a local court after insisting that the man she had married is lazy and fond of drinking a highly-potent illicit beer locally known as ‘kachasu.’
She narrated that her husband only drinks Kachasu and leaves her to take care of the family alone.
Clara Chitina 36 of Kantolomba Township successfully petitioned the Kabushi Local Court to dissolve her marriage with George Sekela 47 of the same township.
Ms Chitina said she got married in 1999 and together they have six children. The man had paid K3 as dowry.
She said from the time they got married, she has never lived well and that the husband used to beat her each time he returned home drunk.
“In 2015 when our first born passed to go to grade eight, he failed to find money to send the child to school until my elder sister took her in and started educating her,” she said.
The case came before senior presiding magistrate Agnes Muswema sitting with Mildred Namwizye and Evenly Nalwizya.
Ms Chitina said she tried advise her husband to start doing some work but he refused, complaining that people would be mocking him for doing casual chores.
She said the man was only pre-occupied with heavy drinking in his entire life and sleeping on a mattress he never bought.
She said at one time, she gave him K200 to start a business and he started selling earrings and chemicals for cockroaches but each time he made money, he used it on beer and never bought any food home.
“I am tired of this marriage instead of being a helper, I have become the head of the house. I am tired of keeping this man because I am the one who pays rent and buy food for the family and I just work as a maid,” she said.
She said she could no longer continue taking care of a lazy man.
In his statement, Mr Sekela said he did not want to divorce his wife and that the two were living well.
He said if his wife forgave him, he would reduce on his drinking habits.
Mr Sekela said his wife wanted to divorce him because she wanted to get married to a witchdoctor.
“When our child was sick, my wife went to see a witchdoctor and she never came back because she got married to him,” he said.
He said he pleaded that he wanted to reconcile with his wife and that he would change for the better.
In passing judgment, the court dissolved the marriage with no compensation and ordered Mr Sekela to be paying K300 per month as child maintenance.
The court further ordered George to leave the house as it belonged to the wife and children since she was the one paying rent.
