OPPOSITION party Umuntu president Steven Nyirenda and wife Lesa Kasoma have made history by getting their marriage dissolved twice in two different courts of law.
The two became husband and wife through a customary marriage in 2012 before the Chelstone Local Court dissolved their marriage in 2017.
After slightly over a year of living apart, Nyirenda who is also Muvi TV proprietor and Kasoma, Komboni Radio owner re-married in 2019 at the Civic Centre in Siavonga.
But on Wednesday March 27, High Court judge Mwamba Chanda declared Nyirenda and Kasoma unwed and threw the pair in the singles bin so that they can be scavenged by fellow divorcees and lonesome women and men in search of partners.
Nyirenda who was sickened with Kasoma’s unreasonable behavior rushed to the Lusaka High Court in November 2023 to seek judicial separation.
The engineer cum-politician prayed to the Court that his six year marriage to Kasoma who is also an engineer and executive director of Komboni Radio, be dissolved.
Kasoma who claimed of having a fatigued relationship with Nyirenda claimed that the latter has evicted her from their fancy Roma home, number 175A situated at the corner or Lusitu and Kasangula road, together with her three children from her previous marriage and the nine year old child she has with him.
“The petitioner has locked all my belongings and those of our nine year old and has asked my 16 year old and 18 year old children to pack their belongings and leave. He also managed to chase my 16 year old son from the house while I was out of town for business one weekend,” Kasoma had submitted to the Court.
“The petitioner has become verbally abusive. He has been belittling me in the presence of the children and he calls me an evil shameless, useless drunk in front of the children.”
She claimed Nyirenda’s foul talk had caused a lot of instability in the home and instilled fear in the children such that she and the children would lock themselves up in the kids bedrooms and if possible hide under the bed and closet.
“The petitioner has gone further to start hiding my valuables and has hidden my laptop which I use for work and school,” Kasoma said.
In his arguments in reply Nyirenda denied having grabbed any valuables from Kasoma saying if he were to confiscate anything from his former companion, he would have re-possessed the most valuable item which is the radio station ( Komboni radio) whose 80% of investments came from him.
“It does does not therefore make no reasonable sense to confiscate a laptop worth K5000, leaving a property worth hundreds of thousands,” Niyerenda submitted.
Upon noticing that the couple was unhappy in love, judge Mwamba Chanda dissolved the marriage on Wednesday.
According to the order of Decree Nisi Judge Chanda said ; “the marriage solemnized at Civic Centre in Siavonga in the Southern Province of the Republic of Zambia on April 28, 2019 between Stephen Nyirenda and Lesa Kasoma has broken down irretrievably and decreed that the said marriage be dissolved.”
In case of a change of mind, the judge gave the couple six weeks to show cause why the decree should not be made absolute.
If the couple does not feel the need of rethinking it’s decision in the six-week grace period, the Court will put a final seal declaring the marriage over and Nyirenda and Kasoma will be free to anyone if they so wish.
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba March 29, 2024.
