Absentee husband divorced

A 26-YEAR-OLD housewife of Lusaka’s Chipata township narrated to the Matero Local Court how her 32-year-old husband defied a court order for reconciliation and continued cohabiting with his mistress.
Kaluba Chitembula told senior court magistrates Petronella Kalyelye and Lewis Mumba that her husband, Levi Phiri, has refused to reconcile with her.
This is because he has not moved back into their matrimonial home after the court reconciled them.
She was submitting evidence in a case in which Chitembula had sued Phiri, of the same township, for divorce.
The two got married in 2006 and have three children together. However, they have been on separation for two months.
Chitembula said she decided to sue Phiri for divorce because she was tired of being married to an absentee husband.
“I’m tired of waiting for him to come back while he stays with his lover. If he was really interested in our marriage, he would have been with me and our children. He doesn’t even bother to check on us anymore. He now sends his brother to check on us for him,” she said.
Chitembula said Phiri advised her to start a new life without him because he had decided to marry his lover.
“His relatives are the ones taking care of me and the children.He only came home this morning because of the divorce case, he left our matrimonial home in September. He has not changed at all,”she said.
In his submission Phiri denied the allegations saying he supports his wife and the children financially as expected of any married man.
He said he wanted to stay with his wife, but it seemed she did not want him as a husband.
Passing judgment, the court granted the couple divorce and ordered Phiri to pay Chitembula K6,000 as compensation in monthly instalments of K500.
Phiri was also ordered to pay K300 monthly for child maintenance.