Man ordered to immediately pay spouse’s dowry
Written by Millennium on August 8, 2019
RABECCA BANDA writes
A local court in Lusaka has ordered a general worker to pay K1, 000 dowry for the woman he had been cohabiting with.
The Chilenje Local Court ordered Masauso Daka, 37, of Kuku Township, to pay the dowry to his brother-in-law David Banda, of Jack Township, in K250 instalments staring in August.
Banda sued his brother-in-law for living with his sister without paying dowry.
He told senior local magistrate Ackim Phiri, sitting with senior local court magistrate Harriet Mbewe, that Daka failed to pay the dowry for his sister when requested to but instead shifted to Lusaka with her.
“We asked Daka to bring a goat as dowry in the village but he only paid nsalamu and shifted to Lusaka,” he said.
“He started living with my sister as his wife and has failed to deliver the goat we asked him to,” he said.
Banda said, “We have given him enough time to pay but he has not shown commitment. As far as we are concerned, he is not marriage to her because he has not paid the dowry.”
“I sued him so that he can pay me the money, considering that a lot of time has passed,” he said.
But in his defence, Daka said he could not take the goat he was requested to as dowry because none of the woman’s relatives had reminded him about it.
“I knew I had to buy a goat but I wasn’t told when to and no one had been to see me to ask me when I would take it there,” said Daka.
‘‘I am not disputing, I am ready to buy the goat for him,’’ he said.
