A Kitwe woman found herself in a dilemma after her husband refused to support her in her pregnancy until he saw who the baby resembled. Eslly Mwewo, 39, told Garneton Local Court that she became pregnant in 2018 and when she informed her husband, Nelson Musali, he told her that he would only accept the responsibility after he saw what the child looked like.

Mwewo told the court that because of her husband’s failure to financially support her during her pregnancy, she relied on her parents. Mwewo has sued Musali, 49, for divorce on grounds that he does not care for her. She said she gave birth to a baby boy in December who resembled her husband and that he was then compelled to start supporting the child. She said her husband suspected that she was having an affair with another man but the resemblance with the newborn settled matters.

Mwewo, after giving birth, fell sick but that her husband never cared for her. She said she was forced to go and live with her parents because she was extremely ill, and that when she went back home she discovered that her husband had brought in another woman. The two got married in 2014 and they have a child together.

Mwewo told the court that problems in their marriage started just after they got married when her husband started spending nights away from home and that he would always beat her up if she inquired about where he slept. Mwewo said her husband once left home for three days without informing her of his whereabouts. Mwewo asked the court to grant them divorce because she was not willing to remain in the marriage.

But Musali told the court that he had never been happy in his marriage because his wife used to mistreat the children she found him with. He asked the court to grant them divorce because his wife used to accuse him of being a wizard. Garneton senior presiding magistrate Mutono Banda granted the couple divorce and ordered Musali to maintain his wife for three years by giving her K300 on a monthly basis as well as K150 for child support.