A 31 year old driver of Lusaka’s John Lang Compound was at pains to explain to the Boma Local Court why he wanted to divorce his wife of 2 years.
Nicholas Mumba told senior local court Magistrate Prudence Bwalya that he could not reconcile with Gloria Mumba, 23, of the same compound, because she did not respect him and did not want to do house chores.
“When it’s 18:00hrs, she shouts and insults me even if I am with customers. At one time she wanted to kill herself and her family came and collected her so they could go and counsel her,” said Mumba.
He said that Ms. Mumba did not change her behaviour after she returned but that she instead got into the habit of provoking him at every slight moment so that they could fight.
“She pulls at my clothes every time we have a misunderstanding so that we can fight but I always avoid it,”
“But it’s better we separate because I am only human, and I may do something bad to her one day, she is disrespectful to my relatives. She talks to them like they are her age mates” Mr. Mumba said.
But Gloria, 23, earlier told court that she got married to. Mumba in 2016, and lived well until in 2017 when her husband suddenly asked her family to collect her so they could go and counsel her.
She explained that she later moved out of the house and went to live with her mother, for four months, but her husband did not ever communicate with her during that period.
“After four months, my relatives told me to return to my husband’s house. He did not sleep home the day I went back and he only came back the following day at 16:00hrs. He told me to pack my things and return to my parents,” she said
When refused to leave he collected a mattress and blankets and left home.
The court observed that the reasons given by Mr. Mumba for seeking a divorce were simple and could be resolved but he held on to his decision that he did not want her any more.
The court therefore ruled that the reconciliation had failed and advised Mr. Mumba to sue his wife for divorce.
