A teacher based in Kasama last week testified how on several occasions she paid damage fees on behalf of her husband to families of girls he impregnated. Testifying in a case Victor Kangwa, 38, sued her for divorce in the Buchi Local Court. Linda Mbulo said her husband was trying to find an excuse to divorce her now because he has found a job.

She narrated that when they married in 2008, they lived well but problems started when Kangwa lost his job and started having girlfriends. Mbulo, 38, said she tolerated her husband’s promiscuous behaviour for some time and would even pay damage fees for him when he was cited for ‘damage’. She said because of his promiscuity, her husband started suspecting her of doing the same things he had been doing and accused her of having affairs.

Mbulo said one day, she started receiving anonymous calls from a woman who wanted Kangwa’s number but that when she insisted on knowing who the woman was, she introduced herself as a sister to one of the women her husband had impregnated. She urged the court not to end the marriage because she had invested a lot of time and resources into it and that it was unfair for her husband to file for divorce now that he has found a job.

Earlier, Kangwa narrated that problems in the couple’s marriage started when their nine-year-old son was born. He said the couple started having misunderstandings emanating from Mbulo’s alleged lies and hatred for his relatives. Kangwa accused Mbulo of being a pathological liar who had been spreading falsehoods that he was HIV-positive when in fact not.

He also complained that his wife had no ability to keep marital secrets. Kangwa said one day, his wife left their home when they lived in Kitwe, under the pretext of going to attend a workshop in Kabwe but he later learnt that she had gone to visit her boyfriend, a soldier.
He said he confronted Mbulo about it and that she apologised. Kangwa further told the court that there was a time he suspected his wife of being pregnant but that the test came out negative.

He said when they lived in Kasama, where his wife works as a teacher, he was called for work in Chinsali and that his wife allegedly took in her boyfriend’s daughter to live with her. Kangwa said he wants divorce to be granted because the couple has lived apart for three years. Buchi senior local court magistrate Elita Bwalya reserved judgment to a later date.