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A LUSAKA man has been slapped with a fine of K10,000 for deserting his wife of 22 years after she fell mentally ill.
This was heard at the Matero Local Court before justices Lewis Mumba and Pauline Newa in a case where Patrick Chali, 48, of Zani Muone sued Gertrude Mulenga, 39, of Chipata Township for divorce.
Chali, who said they got married in 1993 but have been on separation for 10 years, also said he has had no peace in his marriage from the onset.
“I discovered that my wife was mentally ill. She would wake up in the middle of the night wanting to stab me,” he said.
He said he later took her to Chainama Hills Hospital for treatment but when the sickness persisted, he decided to take her back to her parents.
And in her statement, Mulenga said Banda lied throughout his testimony.
A soft-spoken Mulenga, who is a mother of four, said Banda had countless lovers who took his attention from her.
She said he always neglected his family, and one day chased their children from home adding that when she fell sick, she had to go to her parents.
When Justice Mumba called Mulenga’s mother to testify, she said Mulenga was not sick when the two got married.
She said the mental illness started when Mulenga had her second child and thereafter, the sickness would grip her after every other pregnancy.
“I took her to Chainama Hills Hospital, where she got well and later took her back to her husband,” she said.
However, Banda took Mulenga back to her parents’ home.
But all the while that Mulenga was there, Banda never visited her to date.
