‘I wanted a village girl’
Court dissolves 24-year marriage after family returns bride price
A WOMAN of Lusaka West who asked Matero Local Court to save her 24-year marriage, left the courtroom disappointed after the magistrate dissolved the union.
Natasha Nalwamba, a housewife was seeking reconciliation with her husband, Kebby Muyamba, a truck driver, with whom she has six children.
The 37-year-old Nalwamba recounted that their marriage was initially peaceful and filled with love, but problems started after her husband began working on weekends.
She claimed that Muyamba would tell her he had gone to work, when he was allegedly living with another woman.
Nalwamba said she only discovered that her husband had married another woman after receiving a phone call from a woman who claimed to be his wife.
“The woman told me that my husband had divorced me and that he only comes home to see the children. I was shaken because I have never been divorced by this man. I instead told the same lady the truth about our marriage,” she narrated.
She further told the court that when she confronted her husband about the other woman, Muyamba packed his belongings and left their home to live with her.
After discovering that her husband was involved with another woman, Nalwamba and her family decided to take the bride price (nsalamu) that had been paid back to the Muyamba family
“I couldn’t be in a polygamous marriage, your honour. I decided to take back the nsalamu because my husband had moved on and married another woman,” she said.
When it was Muyamba’s turn to testify, he told the court that his wife had always told him that he was not her type.
“Your Honour, my wife has always said that I am not her type. She started saying this after she had gained some weight. She told me that my type has always been a village girl,” he said.
Muyamba said he later decided to marry another woman from his village.
“I wanted to fulfil her wishes, so I went ahead and married my type, a woman from the village. I don’t want to reconcile with her, your honour. Last year in June, she even brought back the [bride price] I paid. What else does she want from me?” he said.
Nalwamba, however, insisted that despite her husband having married another woman, she was still in love with him and wanted their marriage to be reconciled.
But in delivering his judgment, Magistrate Lubuwa said the return of the bride price meant that there was no longer a marriage between the two partie
“Nalwamba, you are a free woman, and Muyamba, you are also a free man. I am dismissing this case because the [bride price] was returned, so I cannot reconcile the two parties,” he said.