Alcohol separates Lusaka couple

A THIRTY THREE-year-old woman of Lusaka West wept before Matero Local Court magistrate Petronella Kalyelye as she asked the court to grant her divorce from her husband whom she accused of traumatising her.

With tears in her eyes, Brenda Nkauso told magistrate Kalyelye when she tried to reconcile the couple that her husband, John Mumbwe had turned her into a slave in their 14 years of marriage.
This was a case in which Nkauso sued Mumbwe, 34, for divorce after the two failed to resolve their marital dispute.
Facts before the court were that the two got married in 2000 and have two children but problems have persisted since then.

Nkauso told the court that she was no longer interested in the marriage with Mumbwe because her husband was an alcoholic who talks the whole night every time he comes from a drinking spree.
He said her husband never respected her as he used to insult her in the presence of his girlfriends without any reason.
“Enough is enough, I have had it with this man before he commits suicide please grant us divorce so that he does that when he is married to some else,” she said.
However, Mumbwe appealed to the court not to grant the couple divorce as he was willing to change and became a better man.
A remorseful Mumbwe told the court that he wanted one last chance to prove to his wife that he still loved her.

He said he never wanted to live alone because he still loved his wife and wanted to continue staying with her so that they could care for their children.
“Please give me an ultimatum in which to change, if she discovers that I have not changed she can come back to court so that you can grant us divorce,” he said.
Magistrate Kalyelye tried to talk to Nkauso so that she could give her husband a second chance but the plaintiff could not bow forcing the court to grant divorce.
Mumbwe was ordered to compensate his former wife with K5,000 to be paid in monthly installments of K200 while another K200 should go towards child maintenance.

Times of Zambia