The Livingstone Local Court has dissolved the eight year marriage between a teacher and a pastor of Livingstone’s Maramba area after the wife complained of her husband’s infidelity.

Majory Bwalya, the teacher, told the court that her husband, a pastor was having an affair with a 54-year-old chairlady of his church, same age as her mother, adding that he once lied that he was going to Zimbabwe on a business trip, but had ended up staying at the said chairlady’s house for two weeks.

The court dissolved the marriage of Bwalya, 32, who sued Pastor Mwiya Namunanga 38, for divorce after she refused to accept reconciliation, saying she had lost affection for him.

When the matter came up before Senior Local Court Magistrate Essau Daka and presiding Local Court Magistrate Ruth Liato, Bwalya told the court that she wanted to divorce her husband because of infidelity and threats on her life.

Bwalya, said the two got married on December 12, 2010, and Namunanga was charged K4,500 but only paid K2,000.

She said the two had a six-year-old child together.

Bwalya told the court that problems in their marriage started when her husband had an extra marital affair with a woman called Memory, who was in Lusaka.

She said she only knew about the affair when Memory sent her nude pictures with her husband at a guest house.

Bwalya said her husband apologised to her and promised her that he would cut ties with Memory.

She told the court that problems in her marriage continued when her husband started having an affair with a 54-year-old chairlady called Winnie, within the same church, same age as her mother.

Bwalya said she confronted her husband about the affair, but he denied.

“At one time, my husband got a set of sofas from the house and gave Winnie as a gift without me knowing that he had an affair with her. When I heard rumours about the illicit affair, I asked him, but he denied. Even Winnie’s neighbours confirmed to me that they saw the man of God frequently visit Winnie and when I asked him, he said it was evangelism because Winnie was an evangelist,” Bwalya narrated.

Bwalya then said her husband started spending nights away.

She said he once lied that he was going to Zimbabwe for business, but when she checked his passport, it showed three days when he had been away for two weeks.

“I was told by Winnie’s neighbours that my husband was at Winnie’s and I should go and see for myself. I went there with his nephew to witness; I found him halfway dressed. Upon seeing me, he rushed to bathroom and started bathing. Asked what my husband was doing, Winnie said he usually goes there to bath almost every day. After bathing, Winnie suggested that I should know the truth and that my husband must choose between Winnie, and I. But to my surprise, my husband said he wrote a divorce letter, but Winnie demanded that he should write a new letter, which he did,” she said.

In response, the defendant, Namunanga, said he was against divorce because he still loved his wife.

He told the court that there was too much interference in their marriage by Bwalya’s relatives.

Namunanga said problems started in 2017 when his wife wanted K4,000 tuition fees, which he failed to raise.

He said his wife then told him that she would divorce him after completing her degree programme at Victoria University in Livingstone.

Namunanga said all the allegations against him were baseless.

He said Winnie was the chairlady of church and an evangelist, hence they were spreading the good news of the gospel.

Asked by the Court if it was in order for a married pastor to bath at the chairlady’s house, Namunanga said ‘not at all’, which sent the court into murmuring.

His wife then asked him to tell the Court if he did not father a child with Winnie, which later died whilst in Lusaka, but Namunanga just kept quiet.

After hearing from both parties, the court granted the couple divorce after Bwalya refused to accept reconciliation, saying she had lost affection for him.

The court then ordered that the two should share their property equally.

They further ordered Mwiya to be supporting his child with K300 effective October 31, 2018, as well as, to finish paying K2,500 dowry balance in K200 monthly instalments effective 0ctober 31, 2018.