A Lusaka woman has recounted the painful moment she allegedly caught her husband in bed with her biological sister, a revelation that became one of the key issues in a divorce case heard before the Matero Local Court.
Martha Muthali, 42, and her husband Michael Ntonkanya, 42, a bricklayer of Barlastone, appeared before the court as their troubled marriage came to an end after years of conflict and mistrust.
According to Martha, the couple’s marriage, which began in 2008, had been plagued by infidelity. She told the court that her husband had repeatedly engaged in relationships with other women during the course of their marriage.
The most painful incident, she said, was discovering him in a compromising situation with her own sister in their matrimonial home.
Martha testified that the experience left her emotionally devastated and deeply traumatized. She told the court that she struggled to come to terms with what she had witnessed, especially as she was pregnant with her husband’s child at the time.
She further alleged that Michael had fathered a child outside the marriage and brought the child into their home without her consent. Martha also accused him of maintaining inappropriate relationships with some female tenants who rented rooms on their property.
In his defense, Michael told the court that he had lost interest in the marriage due to constant disagreements with his wife. He alleged that Martha had become distant from his relatives and accused her of collecting rental income from tenants without involving him.
Michael also complained that their relationship had deteriorated to the point where the couple had gone several months without intimacy.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Magistrate Lewis Mumba ruled that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.
The court observed that the relationship had become toxic and that reconciliation was unlikely to succeed.
The magistrate subsequently dissolved the marriage and ordered Michael to pay Martha K1,000 as compensation for adultery. Full custody of the couple’s child was also awarded to Martha.
The ruling brings to an end a marriage that both parties admitted had been marked by years of conflict, mistrust, and infidelity.
