LUCY PHIRI writes
A Chongwe woman told a local court in Lusaka her husband had been sleeping in shorts or trousers ever since he reportedly found a girlfriend. Marthas Kapepe, 32, told the Chelstone Local Court, her husband Martin Mbewe, 32, also of Chongwe, refused to make love to her and would sometimes disappear from home for as long as two weeks without communicating. “He beats me each time I ask about his whereabouts,” she stated. This was in a case before senior local court magistrate Charity Milambo in which Ms Kapepe had sued her husband of 14 years for reconciliation. Ms Kapepe told court she wanted to reconcile with her husband despite that he had a girlfriend who was even two months pregnant by him. “I still love him ad wants him back. I know he can change,” she said. But Mr Mbewe told court he did not what to be reconciled with Ms Kapepe because she was arrogant and insolent to him. “I am tired. This woman does not respect me. She packs her belongings and goes to her mother every time we have a small quarrel. Her mother also defends her and does not want to listen to me whenever I try to talk things over,” he said. Mr Mbewe said, “She at one point stopped cooking for me and had a tendency of calling every number in my mobile phone. I have no girlfriend as she claims. She is just insecure.” The couple got married in 2005 and have three children together though Mr Mbewe has never paid dowry.
The court dismissed the case but advised Ms Mbewe to instead to sue for divorce because the defendant could not be forced to reconcile if he was not interested.
