HAVING spent all his savings on a wedding as demanded by his former wife, a 24 year old man now has no money to provide for himself and pay the balance of the bride price. Chanda Mushili says his business collapsed a few months after he got married because he spent all his capital . His mother-in-law, Elizabeth Chibwe, 44,has sued him for payment of the bride price.

Mushili married told the Matero Local Court he married Chibwe’s daughter in 2016 but the couple divorced in 2019. “I spent all my capital on the wedding and things are tough for me. I have never enjoyed life from the time I got married to Chibwe’s daughter,” he said. Mushili said he was against having a wedding but he was forced by Chibwe and her family who promised to support him but failed to do so in the end. He told the court that Chibwe said she would not allow her daughter to be married without a wedding.

“I cannot manage to pay the remaining K 3,000 bride price because I always struggle to pay the K500 for child and spouse maintenance,” Mushili said. He said asking him to start paying the remaining balance is like tormenting him. But Chibwe, in her testimony, earlier said he wants the court to compel Mushili to pay the money.

“The money is long overdue. He promised that he would finish paying the bride price as soon as the wedding ceremony was done. We charged him K 7,000 and he paid a K 4, 000,” she said. Chibwe told the court that Mushili has been refusing to pay the balance from the time he divorced with her daughter. She said Mushili is disrespectful and has on several occasions told her that he will not pay the balance because he divorced her daughter. In passing judgement Magistrate Ruth Masanga sitting with magistrate Nancy Ngoma and Lewis Mumba ordered Mushili to start paying the money in monthly instalments of K250 with effect from March 31.