Lusaka man sues girlfriend for forcing him to marry her

Lusaka man sues girlfriend for forcing him to marry her

AFTER successfully extracting all the levels of sweetness from each other before legally tying the knot, a cohabiting Lusaka couple’s once-rosy romance has turned into a bitter legal battle.

Ackim Tukuluho, a man who once saw his future in Rabecca Khondowe, found himself trapped in a loveless relationship he never consented to and wanted the next and efficient route to be Yangoed away from the union and he identified the Matero Local Court as the vehicle.

The couple’s story began like a fairy tale, with two souls finding solace in each other’s company. But as time passed, the sweetness of their love turned into a sour taste leaving Tukuluho, feeling suffocated by Khondowe’s demands as he realised his heart had wandered elsewhere.

Therefore Tukuluho sued his girlfriend, Khondowe for the court to reconcile the two, over what he termed as a forced marriage on grounds that she and her family were forcing him to marry her.

He said despite living with her in one house, his position in her life ended on mere ‘babe’ and would never graduate to ‘hubby’.

“I am the one paying rentals in the house and I am no longer interested in marrying her but her family is forcing me to pay dowry, I don’t want, so I come here so the court can help me because I cant marry her, I no longer love her,” Tukuluho complained to the court.

But Khondowe, said she was already convinced that Tukuluho was already her husband as he had paid Nsalamu to her family to engage her.

But the court reminded her that, ‘Nkobekela te chupo’ (engagement is not marriage).

Khondowe said she could not leave their venue of cohabitation, the house the two were renting as despite not being the one paying rent, she is the one who went through the trouble of agents to find it.

“I want him to move out of the house instead because I am the one who found it. He paid nsalamu already and we live together so I do not understand him,” said Khondowe.

But Magistrate Harriet Mulenga dismissed the case for reconciliation over forced marriage, indicating that the case lacked merit.

“He can pay nsalamu to many women but that is not marriage, what constitutes the marriage is dowry. So you must understand that he never married you,” said Magistrate Mulenga.

By Buumba Mwitumwa

Kalemba September 4, 2024