A 38-year-old married woman from Lusaka appeared before the Matero Local Court after her husband filed a complaint of adultery. The 42-year-old husband told the court he discovered his wife had been involved with their married neighbour.
In court, the woman admitted to the affair, stating it began when she was three months pregnant. She said the encounters took place in a spare bedroom at her home while her husband was at work. She explained to the court that she was confessing and asking her husband for forgiveness.
The husband said he was deeply hurt by the admission and chose to seek legal redress instead of resolving the matter privately. He told the court he was uncertain about the paternity of their child due to the affair and requested that a DNA test be conducted.
The neighbour, who is also married, denied the allegations. He testified that he had never been involved with the woman and that he spends his time at home with his wife after work. He stated he had never visited the woman’s residence and suggested she may have been mistaken.
After hearing testimony from both parties, Magistrate Harriet Mulenga found that an adulterous relationship had occurred. The magistrate noted the woman’s direct confession in court regarding the affair.
The court ordered the woman to pay her husband K10,000 in compensation for adultery, to be settled in monthly installments of K1,000. The husband was also advised to seek counseling to help him cope with the situation.
