Estranged couple reconciles

MUTINTA MULAYE writes

A case in which a woman in Lusaka dragged her 43-year old “abusive” husband to court for divorce, took a twist when the couple changed their minds during the hearing and informed the presiding magistrate they instead wanted to reconcile in order to look after the children together.
This was in a matter in which Sharon Kamila, 40, of Northmead Residential area, sought to be divorced from Brian Shankali, her husband of 14 years, because he was abusive.
Ms Kamila had accused her husband of insulting her in front of their children whenever he got drunk and of failing to support his family.
“He would go out to drink every weekend and come back home to insult me in front of the children,” she said.
She said her husband was a womaniser who had deserted her for another woman and that he was in the habit of taking household items from the matrimonial home to the girlfriend’s house.
“We live in his mother’s house, but he moved in with a girlfriend just across the road. He pays for her rent and her child’s school fees and yet fails to buy food and clothes for our children,” Ms Kamila stated.
Ms Kamila told Boma Court senior magistrate, Peggy Nyambe, that Mr Shankali had never supported her household ever since he deserted her in December last year.
She however told court she did not want divorced from Mr Shankali because she wanted him to help look after their children.
Mr Shankali, in his defence, told court he had been having problems with his wife since 2016 but he only met his girlfriend in 2018.
“She actually more abusive because she has infact even hit me with iron bars before,” he said.
The court reconciled the couple after they both stated they did not want to divorce but cautioned them against being abusive.
The court informed Mr. Shankali his decision to have a girlfriend was also causing problems in the marriage.