A WOMAN of Lusaka has backtracked on her earlier claim of reconciliation opting for divorce after it transpired in court that her husband has since married his long-time girlfriend. Orland Mulenga, 34, of SOS in Lusaka, told the Boma Local Court that she is not ready to be in a polygamous marriage. She was testifying in a matter in which she sued Martin Mulenga, 37, for marriage reconciliation.
The couple got married in 2004 and has five children together. “There is no way my husband can bring in his concubine in a house that we struggled so hard to build. I have tolerated him for a long time. He even has four children outside marriage.
I cannot take it anymore,” she said. A visibly annoyed Orland said she has lost peace in her home since her husband brought in his lover. She said the only way out is for her husband to chase his lover or forget staying with her. But in his defence, Martin told the court that he is in a polygamous marriage. “I disclosed at a family meeting in 2012 that I have married another wife.
I am wondering why my first wife is refusing to accept the situation,” he said. Martin told the court that he went on to marry another woman because Orland does not respect him. He said he married a second wife so that his first wife could start respecting him. “Our marriage has been full of arguments and misunderstandings. I married the other woman so that Orland should change,” Martin said.
He told the court that he loves both women and does not want to lose either of them. In passing judgment, Magistrate Petronella Kalyelye dismissed the claim for reconciliation on grounds that Orland was not willing to reconcile.