Drama has continued to ensue in Lusaka local courtrooms and this time the story centred around a Lusaka wife who revealed her husband’s bizarre acts of inspecting her private parts to prove whether or not she has been having sex with other men.
This attracted the curiosity of Lusaka magistrate Lazarus Mwape who lashed out at the man, saying that was unheard-off.
In further attempts to guard his wife, William Phiri was alleged to have been forcing his wife, Hope Lungu, to wear his underwear,believing that this would detest men if they attempted to lure her to bed and forgo the thought of sleeping with her.
Lungu, 33, told the court that she felt offended with her husband’s habit of checking her private parts.This forced her to take the matter to court to end her misery in the couple’s 18-year-old matrimony.
“He (Phiri) reaches an extent of checking my private parts to confirm if I have had any sexual encounters with other men, “Lungu said.She complained that her husband had become over-possessive of her and this had caused friction in their 18-year marriage.
Magistrate Mwape said, “Your actions are unjustified and prove that indeed there is a problem in this marriage. It is unheard-of for a husband to check his wife’s private parts.”
Magistrate Mwape said inspecting Lungu’s private parts and forcing her to wear her husband’s underwear could not stop her from having sex with other men, if she wanted to.
Phiri had also gone a step further in his jealousy, and banned all his male friends from stepping their feet on or near his home, lest they were eying his wife.
“All his male relatives and friends have been banned from our house and he even suspects his own brother of having an affair with me,”Lungu said.
She said Phiri’s behaviour had taken the marriage on the verge breaking as he was even spying on his wife whenever she went to draw water from a communal tap.
“For him, any man that passes near the house is my boyfriend and he would start beating me whenever I go to draw water at the tap where there are a lot of men,” she said.
But Phiri dismissed his wife’s submissions, saying she was a highly emotional person who failed to resolve their problems in an amicable manner whenever they differed.He denied forcing his wife to wear his underwear, saying that when he once found her wearing them, he was shocked by this as he did not expect her to conduct herself in such a manner.Phiri said when asked her why she was putting on his underpants, she responded that she used to wear them often and that it was normal because the two were one since they were married.
“One time I found my wife trying to put on my underwear. This shocked me because it was illogical for a woman to put on her husband’s underwear,” he said.
He said another problem was that his in-laws had been financing the couple’s marriage and that he was not comfortable with that.
Phiri also accused his brother-in-law of having defiled his daughter,saying this had fueled tension between the couple.
“My young daughter confessed that a person used to come at night to sleep with her in the bedroom but when I told my wife she overreacted and defended her brother,” he said.He claimed that on one occasion, Lungu had beaten him and undressed him in full view of their daughter.
Phiri said he suspected that his wife was having an affair with another man because on two occasions, a man had come to their home but she did not introduce him and this raised suspicion and a subsequent banning of men visiting them.
“On two occasions a man came to our house with groceries and other commodities but when he found me at home he left without us being introduced,” he said.
Magistrate Mwape dissolved the marriage but said there was no compensation because he was financially insolvent as it was evident from the way the couple’s in-laws were feeding them.Magistrate Mwape ordered Phiri to pay monthly maintenance of K300, 000 for his four children.
