A 50-year-old of Bulangililo township in Kitwe has dragged his wife to court for divorce because she opts to spend her time engaging in political activities and traditional teachings instead of spending time with him. Francis Kapya was testifying in a case in which he sued his wife, Loveness Chishala, 41, for divorce before the Bulangililo local court on grounds that she does not have time for him.

The two married in 1996 and have five children together. Kapya told the court that problems in their marriage started when his wife became a political cadre. He told the court that his wife is ever patronising political meetings instead of spending her time with her family.
Kapya said he has engaged her about the issue but that she tells him that she cannot stop.

He also complained before the court that his wife spends more time counselling other people’s marriages while hers is facing problems. “My wife is good at doing things to impress other people but she forgets that her family needs her. She barely spends time with me,” Kapya said.

He also complained of his wife’s love for alcoholic beverages and that she likes hanging out with unmarried women, a situation he dislikes. Kapya said he has made efforts to see to it that his wife changes her behaviour but that she has failed to do that. But Chishala accused her husband of blocking her from his marital life, in preference to his sister performing marital requirements.

She told the court that she is a marriage counsellor and a cadre but that her husband has never had a problem with it because he uses the money that she makes from the two activities. Chishala asked the court to grant them divorce because her husband now values his sister more than her.
Bulangililo senior local court magistrate Kambole Nyoni granted the couple divorce and ordered Kapya to compensate his wife with K7,000.