Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa says those calling him childish for telling the nation that he is buying new furniture because his ex-wife took everything from him are being unfair because as a public figure, people deserve to know his circumstances.

And Sampa says he will not marry any time soon and that at the moment, his wife is the garbage in Lusaka.

On Tuesday, a clip from the Muvi TV news went viral on social media where Sampa was telling guests at a store opening that he was purchasing a bed because he had been sleeping on the floor after his divorce.

Sampa also lamented that despite taking everything from him, his ex-wife was now going after his salary from the Lusaka City Council.

“I am the first customer of Lifestyle Centre. As you know, my ex-wife went away with all my household goods. Now she even wants my ka small salary from the council,” Sampa lamented in the news clip.

“But today marks the day that I begin afresh. The bed, she took, I sleep on the floor, that’s why I am every tired. The furniture, she took, I sleep on the floor as well. The dinning table, she took, that’s why you have seen, I have lost weight because I have no where to eat from. So today, Mr Chairman of Lifestyle Centre, I am going to buy, to be the first customer to buy one bed and a lounge suite so that all Lusaka residents can feel free to visit me and have somewhere to sit. Last and not the least, I will also buy a dining table.”

In most of the comments on this video, however, Netizens condemned Sampa for “airing dirty laundry in public”.

But in an interview, Thursday, Sampa insisted that as a public figure, Lusaka residents deserved to know his situation.

“I tell the truth and I am public figure. I said in that in context that I was buying furniture and what led me to buy it. I am buying new beds and dining table. It’s not a secret any way. The divorce issue has been in the press so what is the secret about that? As a public figure, there is no secret! When she (ex-wife) took the matter [to court], it was not private. I am in the hands of the people. They need to know the mayor’s business, the mayor’s circumstances, where is he staying, where he is sleeping, what he is eating? They need to know. They have those rights,” he said.

And Sampa said he was not in need of a wife at the moment.

“Right now I am recovering the goods I lost through the process I lost a number of material things. When it comes to love related, I recovered a long time ago! And I am not looking for a wife for a long time to come. My wife is the garbage of Lusaka, to clean it up,” said Sampa.