A 29-year-old woman has told the Chawama Local Court that she allegedly discovered her husband with another woman in their bathroom, an incident she says became the final straw in a marriage already strained by alleged infidelity, late nights and repeated family interventions.
Prisca Sale, who is seeking a divorce from her 38-year-old husband, Lumbani Chabinga, a police officer from Kamwala South, told Magistrate Lillian Mangwela that the couple’s marriage had been troubled almost from the beginning.
Prisca said the couple married in 2023 under the Marriage Act and have one child.
She told the court that on the day of the alleged bathroom incident, she had prepared water for her husband to bathe before going to bed.
However, after waiting for him in the bedroom, she fell asleep.
When she woke up, Lumbani was still in the bathroom.
Prisca said she called out to him, and he allegedly rushed out before locking her inside the house and returning to the bathroom.
She said she forced the door open and went to investigate, only to allegedly see a woman running out of the bathroom.
Prisca confronted her husband and demanded to know who the woman was and what she had been doing there.
According to Prisca, Lumbani did not provide an immediate explanation and instead went to sleep.
She said an explanation came the following morning when her husband allegedly claimed that his cousin had brought the woman to the house because she was stranded.
Prisca said the explanation did not convince her, particularly given where she allegedly found the woman.
She subsequently informed her husband’s family about the incident.
However, Prisca told the court that the bathroom episode was only one of several problems that had plagued the marriage.
She alleged that Lumbani routinely left home around 21:00 and sometimes returned between 23:00 and midnight, often spending long periods on his phone.
According to Prisca, she once checked his phone and discovered conversations with women she believed were his long-time girlfriends.
She further claimed that her mother-in-law advised her not to confront her husband over his late nights or absences, but instead to welcome him home, prepare bath water and serve him food.
Prisca said the advice failed to address the problems in the marriage.
She told the court that disagreements had also arisen over traditional marriage arrangements before the couple’s wedding.
According to Prisca, her husband’s family initially refused to witness the bridal handover because they believed some of the traditional practices involved charms and witchcraft.
She said the traditional items, known as ichipe, were instead taken to her husband’s elder sister, who is married to a pastor, and were only brought to the couple’s home three days later.
Prisca said disputes continued after the marriage.
She alleged that while she was pregnant, her husband became angry during an argument and took food and mealie meal from their home to his mother’s house.
She said she was forced to go to her own mother’s home to eat.
Prisca further alleged that her husband was not supportive during the final stages of her pregnancy, claiming that he would sometimes return home drunk and fail to assist her while she was experiencing severe pain.
She eventually went to her parents’ home.
Prisca said a neighbour who was a nurse examined her and advised her to prepare for delivery. When she asked her husband for assistance, she alleged that he refused and accused her of talking too much.
She said she eventually handled the preparations herself.
The couple later welcomed their child, but Prisca said marital problems continued.
She told the court that she initially filed for divorce and served her husband with a summons.
However, before the matter could proceed, she said a pastor who had blessed their marriage summoned her to his home and told her that church doctrine did not permit divorce.
According to Prisca, the pastor also warned her that she and her father, who had been her witness, could face five years in prison.
Fearing for her father, she said she withdrew the case and returned to her husband.
The reconciliation did not last.
Prisca said arguments continued over her husband’s alleged debts, his late nights and women who allegedly contacted her about their relationships with him.
She said that after Lumbani stopped receiving his salary because of problems at work, the couple moved into his sister’s home.
Even there, Prisca alleged, her husband spent two nights away from home.
She also told the court that, two weeks before the latest court proceedings, another dispute resulted in Lumbani taking their baby to his mother’s house.
Prisca said she reported the matter to police, after which the child was returned.
She told the court that she wanted the marriage dissolved because she believed her husband would not change.
HUSBAND DENIES WANTING DIVORCE
Lumbani gave the court a different account, saying he did not want the marriage to end because he still loved his wife.
He said one of the major problems in the marriage was Prisca’s tendency to involve family members whenever the couple disagreed.
He particularly complained that she frequently involved her father in their disputes.
Lumbani said there were occasions when he returned from work and found that his wife had packed her belongings and gone to her parents’ home.
He also accused Prisca of once waking him at about 01:00 to check his phone before allegedly hitting him with an umbrella and grabbing a knife.
He said he managed to take the knife away from her.
Lumbani denied forcibly taking their baby from Prisca, saying he had taken the child to his mother after Prisca packed her belongings and left.
He claimed she sometimes stayed at her parents’ home for two or three months.
He told the court that dissolving the marriage would negatively affect their child.
WOMEN’S CALLS
When questioned about calls from women, Lumbani said his work as a police officer explained many of the contacts.
He claimed that several women who contacted him were connected to banks, businesses and other work-related organisations.
He acknowledged receiving one late-night call from a woman whose number he did not recognise.
Regarding messages from a former girlfriend in Kalomo, Lumbani said the woman wanted to meet him in town.
Prisca, however, disputed his explanation.
She alleged that the messages went beyond arranging a meeting and included discussions about lodges where the two had allegedly previously met and intended to meet again.
She further claimed that the woman had asked Lumbani for money to purchase an emergency contraceptive.
Prisca also alleged that the woman had been given details about what was happening inside the matrimonial home, including her Facebook username.
After hearing the evidence from both sides, the court adjourned the matter to a later date for judgment.
The proceedings also encountered an administrative complication when the couple informed the court that they had left their marriage certificate at home.
They maintained that their marriage had been solemnised under the Marriage Act and not under customary law.
The court is expected to revisit the matter after the marriage certificate is produced.
For now, the case has brought together allegations of infidelity, family disputes, pregnancy-related disagreements, financial problems, alleged violence and a dramatic bathroom incident — leaving the court to determine the future of a marriage that began in 2023.
WOMAN ALLEGES SHE CAUGHT HUSBAND WITH ANOTHER WOMAN IN BATHROOM
A 29-year-old woman has told the Chawama Local Court that she allegedly discovered her husband with another woman in their bathroom, an incident she says became the final straw in a marriage already strained by alleged infidelity, late nights and repeated family interventions.
Prisca Sale, who is seeking a divorce from her 38-year-old husband, Lumbani Chabinga, a police officer from Kamwala South, told Magistrate Lillian Mangwela that the couple’s marriage had been troubled almost from the beginning.
Prisca said the couple married in 2023 under the Marriage Act and have one child.
She told the court that on the day of the alleged bathroom incident, she had prepared water for her husband to bathe before going to bed.
However, after waiting for him in the bedroom, she fell asleep.
When she woke up, Lumbani was still in the bathroom.
Prisca said she called out to him, and he allegedly rushed out before locking her inside the house and returning to the bathroom.
She said she forced the door open and went to investigate, only to allegedly see a woman running out of the bathroom.
Prisca confronted her husband and demanded to know who the woman was and what she had been doing there.
According to Prisca, Lumbani did not provide an immediate explanation and instead went to sleep.
She said an explanation came the following morning when her husband allegedly claimed that his cousin had brought the woman to the house because she was stranded.
Prisca said the explanation did not convince her, particularly given where she allegedly found the woman.
She subsequently informed her husband’s family about the incident.
However, Prisca told the court that the bathroom episode was only one of several problems that had plagued the marriage.
She alleged that Lumbani routinely left home around 21:00 and sometimes returned between 23:00 and midnight, often spending long periods on his phone.
According to Prisca, she once checked his phone and discovered conversations with women she believed were his long-time girlfriends.
She further claimed that her mother-in-law advised her not to confront her husband over his late nights or absences, but instead to welcome him home, prepare bath water and serve him food.
Prisca said the advice failed to address the problems in the marriage.
She told the court that disagreements had also arisen over traditional marriage arrangements before the couple’s wedding.
According to Prisca, her husband’s family initially refused to witness the bridal handover because they believed some of the traditional practices involved charms and witchcraft.
She said the traditional items, known as ichipe, were instead taken to her husband’s elder sister, who is married to a pastor, and were only brought to the couple’s home three days later.
Prisca said disputes continued after the marriage.
She alleged that while she was pregnant, her husband became angry during an argument and took food and mealie meal from their home to his mother’s house.
She said she was forced to go to her own mother’s home to eat.
Prisca further alleged that her husband was not supportive during the final stages of her pregnancy, claiming that he would sometimes return home drunk and fail to assist her while she was experiencing severe pain.
She eventually went to her parents’ home.
Prisca said a neighbour who was a nurse examined her and advised her to prepare for delivery. When she asked her husband for assistance, she alleged that he refused and accused her of talking too much.
She said she eventually handled the preparations herself.
The couple later welcomed their child, but Prisca said marital problems continued.
She told the court that she initially filed for divorce and served her husband with a summons.
However, before the matter could proceed, she said a pastor who had blessed their marriage summoned her to his home and told her that church doctrine did not permit divorce.
According to Prisca, the pastor also warned her that she and her father, who had been her witness, could face five years in prison.
Fearing for her father, she said she withdrew the case and returned to her husband.
The reconciliation did not last.
Prisca said arguments continued over her husband’s alleged debts, his late nights and women who allegedly contacted her about their relationships with him.
She said that after Lumbani stopped receiving his salary because of problems at work, the couple moved into his sister’s home.
Even there, Prisca alleged, her husband spent two nights away from home.
She also told the court that, two weeks before the latest court proceedings, another dispute resulted in Lumbani taking their baby to his mother’s house.
Prisca said she reported the matter to police, after which the child was returned.
She told the court that she wanted the marriage dissolved because she believed her husband would not change.
HUSBAND DENIES WANTING DIVORCE
Lumbani gave the court a different account, saying he did not want the marriage to end because he still loved his wife.
He said one of the major problems in the marriage was Prisca’s tendency to involve family members whenever the couple disagreed.
He particularly complained that she frequently involved her father in their disputes.
Lumbani said there were occasions when he returned from work and found that his wife had packed her belongings and gone to her parents’ home.
He also accused Prisca of once waking him at about 01:00 to check his phone before allegedly hitting him with an umbrella and grabbing a knife.
He said he managed to take the knife away from her.
Lumbani denied forcibly taking their baby from Prisca, saying he had taken the child to his mother after Prisca packed her belongings and left.
He claimed she sometimes stayed at her parents’ home for two or three months.
He told the court that dissolving the marriage would negatively affect their child.
WOMEN’S CALLS
When questioned about calls from women, Lumbani said his work as a police officer explained many of the contacts.
He claimed that several women who contacted him were connected to banks, businesses and other work-related organisations.
He acknowledged receiving one late-night call from a woman whose number he did not recognise.
Regarding messages from a former girlfriend in Kalomo, Lumbani said the woman wanted to meet him in town.
Prisca, however, disputed his explanation.
She alleged that the messages went beyond arranging a meeting and included discussions about lodges where the two had allegedly previously met and intended to meet again.
She further claimed that the woman had asked Lumbani for money to purchase an emergency contraceptive.
Prisca also alleged that the woman had been given details about what was happening inside the matrimonial home, including her Facebook username.
After hearing the evidence from both sides, the court adjourned the matter to a later date for judgment.
The proceedings also encountered an administrative complication when the couple informed the court that they had left their marriage certificate at home.
They maintained that their marriage had been solemnised under the Marriage Act and not under customary law.
The court is expected to revisit the matter after the marriage certificate is produced.
For now, the case has brought together allegations of infidelity, family disputes, pregnancy-related disagreements, financial problems, alleged violence and a dramatic bathroom incident — leaving the court to determine the future of a marriage that began in 2023.