MUTINTA MULAYE writes
@SunZambian
LUSAKA’S Boma Local Court has given a couple that has been on separation for one year and four months a month to sit down with their parents to discuss the way forward.
This was after both agreed to reconcile but the wife refused to move into her mother-in-law’s house where her husband was living.
Masiku Mwale, 28, of Chelston who took Miyanda Muchanga of the same area to court told senior local court magistrate Peggy Nyambe that she wanted her husband to tell her whether they were still married or not.
“We got married in 2015 and went to stay in Salama Park. Because of too many thieves, we decided to shift. We moved to my mother-in-law’s house but I used to have misunderstandings. So I wasn’t free,” Mwale said.
“One time my husband gave me money to look for a house, but we still didn’t shift. I went to my parents and he stayed at his parents’ house. Whenever I talk about us shifting into our own house, he doesn’t stay anything,” she said.
Mwale said she told Muchanga that even in a one-room house they could live, but he thought she just wanted a big house.
She said she wanted to know whether they were still married because they had been on separation for over a year and her husband had stopped supporting her.
“There is no action being taken. All our three children are still staying with me and my husband and I are still staying apart. He should tell me what amount he can afford for rent and I will look for a house, even for K500. I love my husband but I can’t move back into my mother-in-law’s house,” she said.
Muchanga told the court he was willing to live with his wife as long as she agreed to move back into his mother’s house.
“I stopped working for about a year and due to financial problems, we moved into mum’s house. But she never got along with my mum and never respected her. So she moved back to her parents. Problem is she thinks I have a lot of money,” he said.
The court found that there were still problems between the two.
Reconciliation was difficult because Muchanga did not have the capacity to move out of his parents’ house while Mwale was not ready to move back into her in-law’s house.
Magistrate Nyambe gave the couple a month to discuss the with their parents and find a solution.
