STOP THE VIOLENCE

Physical abuse is any intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person by way of bodily contact which should not be entertained at all.

Take the case of this Lusaka’s Garden House area housewife who was allegedly pushed out of a moving vehicle by her husband after the couple picked up a quarrel.

This is a typical case of gender-based violence or gendered violence, which only denotes harm inflicted upon individuals and probably connected to normative understandings of their gender.

Instead of discussing whatever  went wrong between  the two, the husband took advantage of his muscles to  push   his ‘weak’ wife out of a  moving vehicle and now she is fighting for her  life in Lusaka’s Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital.

This is a story of Kenneth Kaguta of Lusaka’s Garden House area who has been apprehended and detained in police custody for having attempted to murder his wife who had just returned from Kenya on Sunday.

Zambia police public relations officer Esther Katongo confirmed the development to the Sun in a statement.

Ms Katongo said Taguta picked a quarrel with his wife Lillian Kasalika, 45 after fetching her from Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) on her return from Nairobi.

It is alleged that as their quarrel heated up Taguta opened the front passenger door and pushed her out from the moving vehicle near the Research Institute and she landed on the tarmac with the head first.

Ms Katongo said Ms Kasalika sustained multiple injuries and became unconscious and was rushed to Levy Mwanawasa Hospital where she was still admitted for medication.

“After  picking her and on their way on the Airport Road, the couple who were in a company of their 14-year- old daughter picked up a quarrel and the husband pushed her out from the moving vehicle,” said Ms Katongo

She said the matter was reported to Police at KKIA around 11:05 hours and Ms Katongo said Ms Kasalika was still bleeding through the nose and was unable to talk.

We wish to point out that violent behaviour is not only primitive but should not be allowed to show its ugly head in a progressive nation like Zambia for the all ills it stands for.

We think that whatever Ms Kasalika did, Kaguta should have   discussed whatever transpired at home and find the way forward instead of taking the law in his own hands and if Ms Ksalika dies, he will be in worse problems.

 It’s not exactly news that Kaguta    probably became deranged in whatever problems he may have had with his  dear wife, but to do what he did is totally unacceptable and he must the face the law.

We are more than sure that Kaguta has been left regretting his actions against his wife, even as she lies in her hospital ward bed.

Perhaps what we need is more counselling for couples to diffuse differences in a more amicable manner. Not every argument should end in physical confrontation. It is possible to have a difference of opinion with anyone getting battered in the process.

It is called agreeing to disagree. It is the civilized way to disagree.