Pay up, Mayor ordered

CHINTU MALAMBO writes

THE Lusaka High Court has ordered the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to deduct K7,000 monthly from Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa’s salary for child maintenance as demanded by his former wife Mwika Mwenechanya

The court made the order in accordance with the Affiliation and Maintenance of Children Act.
This is according to an order dated July 19, 2019, signed by the deputy registrar of the Lusaka High Court.
“Whereas Miles Bwalya Emmanuel Sampa of house no. 41 Kudu Road, Kabulonga, Lusaka, aged 49 years, and who works at the Lusaka City Council, as the mayor of the city of Lusaka is required under a ruling on 23rd day of April 2019 by the High Court for Zambia to make monthly payments of K7,000 towards  the monthly expenses of the child of the family on or before the 6th day of every month to the applicant, Mwika Mwenechanya Sampa,” the order read in part.
“It appears that at the time the application was made Mr. Sampa was due under the maintenance order of the court in the said ruling has not paid an amount equal to not less than two of the monthly payments required by the ruling of the court and the outstanding school fees of the child and that earnings fall to be paid by the Lusaka City Council to the respondent.”
Ms. Mwenechanya, an economist at the Bank of Zambia (BoZ), following their divorce, asked the court to order Mr. Sampa to be paying more than K30,000 monthly for child maintenance of their daughter, among others.
She had asked the court to order the LCC, which is Mr. Sampa’s employer, to be making payments of K7,000 monthly out of the mayor’s earnings for maintenance of their child.
Mr. Sampa was recently ordered by the Lusaka High Court to be maintaining his daughter at a monthly amount of K7,000, which should be paid before the sixth day of every month.
But according to Ms. Mwenechanya, he had allegedly neglected to comply with the court order.
The court also ordered that Mr. Sampa pay the balance of US$13,000 (about K169,000)  outstanding school fees at the American International School (AIS) and to provide a driver to be picking up the child from school and to put the child on council medical scheme.
Ms. Mwenechanya also wanted the court to cite Sampa for alleged contempt of court for alleged failure to comply with the court order dated April 23, 2019, which ordered Sampa to pay maintenance for the child of the family.
The court, however, set July 29 as date of interparty hearing of Ms. Mwenechanya’s application to institute contempt of court proceedings against the mayor.