Local court dismisses divorce case of a statutory marriage
Written by Millennium on May 7, 2019
MUTINTA MULAYE writes
THE Boma Local Court has dismissed a case in which a husband sued his wife who took to the bottle in a big way and put their marriage in jeopardy because it is a statutory union which can only be heard by a High Court.
Anthony Sinyangwe sued his wife Rosemary Musashiko, 26, for engaging in beer drinking which was affecting their marriage.
Mr Sinyangwe who sued his wife for marriage reconciliation told Senior Local Court Magistrate Juliet Mwila that just a month after he married Musashiko in 2016, she came home very drunk.
“When I asked her about it, she said she had gone to look for peace. We had a huge argument and the landlord even came to ask what was going on. From then my wife started telling me to take her back to her parents,” said Mr Sinyangwe.
He also told the court that his wife later left home and went to stay for some time in Mafinga and when he followed, he discovered she was not sleeping home.
“She was not home when I arrived and she only came back the following day. She explained to me that she went to her friend’s party. I was surprised to find her without her wedding ring,” Mr Sinyangwe stated.
He also told the court that when he asked her about her ring, she did not give him a satisfactory answer.
“My wife is fond of excessive beer drinking. In fact even there in Mafinga I was told by someone that my wife has been telling people she is divorced! When I asked her about it she told me to give her distance,” Mr Sinyangwe said.
In defence Ms Musashiko told the court that her husband was irresponsible and insecure and always accused her of being unfaithful and all she wanted was divorce.
“He accuses me of cheating when he doesn’t even have any evidence. One time he even claimed he saw me coming out of a man’s car which I don’t know of,” Ms Musashiko stated.
She also said that every time her phone rang, her husband would think it’s a boyfriend calling.
She only went drinking once in a while as it was the case at her friend’s birthday party and that she informed her husband about it.
“We weren’t speaking so I felt tormented. He wasn’t taking care of me so I left him because staying with him was more like staying alone.
When I left him I found some peace,” Ms said Musashiko.
The court found that the two actually had a statutory marriage and the case was dismissed and advised either party to sue for divorce in the high court.
