A LUSAKA husband has refused to reconcile with his estranged wife who varnished to the village since 2023, and only reappeared after hearing that her husband had married someone else.
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A once-loving marriage between 59-year-old Gaston Phiri of Lusaka’s Garden Compound and Joyce Tembo, 54, has been torn apart after Tembo’s mysterious disappearance into the heart of Zambia’s villages.
Two years later just when Phiri thought he had moved on peacefully, Tembo resurfaced with a burning desire to reconcile but it seems the flame had long dimmed as Phiri rejected Tembo’s advances, declaring that he found love again in another person.
Tembo is believed to have allegedly stormed off to her home village to harvest maize, leaving her husband thinking she would be back in two or three weeks but she never returned only to reappear after two years, not with a bag of maize but with a heart full of regret.
This is in a case brought before the Matero Local Court where Tembo sued her husband, Phiri, seeking reconciliation after a two-year disappearance.
But Phiri rejected Tembo’s reconciliation attempts, declaring that he could no longer put up with her behaviour after a two-year unexplained absence.
Phiri recounted that after losing his job early 2023, he urged his wife to engage in productive activities, suggesting she goes to the village to harvest some maize and bring it back to Lusaka to sell.
“She agreed and for some time, she did well by returning home within the expected timeframe. However, her absences grew increasingly long, stretching from one month to six months and then a whole year. I was left alone with our children, providing for them and caring for them during that time,” Phiri disclosed.
He revealed that before Tembo left for the village, the two stopped sleeping in the same room as she would spend her nights in the children’s bedrooms, leaving him cuddling with only pillows and his blankets in the cold.
“Although I was strong, her unwillingness to wash my clothes added to the issues we were facing. In 2024, I visited the village hoping to reconcile with my wife, but she and her relatives treated me like a dog, chasing me away,” he said.
He revealed that he only remarried this year in April, because Tembo left a young child without any care and as a single parent, he felt compelled to provide a stable and nurturing environment for the child, which ultimately led him to seek out a new partner who could help in raising the child and provide a sense of stability in their lives.
Phiri also disclosed that Tembo was the “undertaker” in their marriage, as she was constantly flying into fits of rage and resorting to violence against him.
“Two weeks ago, Tembo returned after hearing about my remarriage and instead of apologising or expressing remorse, she demanded financial benefits from me. I’m tired of her erratic behaviour and lack of accountability.”
“Moreover, I’m not even sure if she maintained fidelity during her extended absence, as she may have been married to someone else in the village,” he added.
Phiri further shared his concerns about his safety in light of Tembo’s violent nature, referencing a chilling incident that occurred in Garden Compound involving the discovery of a human skeleton.
To justify her actions, Tembo blamed Phiri’s alleged serial polygamy for her decision to vanish to the village, claiming that he had already married five women, both before and during her absence.
She portrayed her departure as a reaction to Phiri’s alleged infidelity, seemingly failing to take responsibility for her own actions in the breakdown of their marriage.
Tembo added that she cannot bear the thought of sharing her husband with another woman.
“The new wife has taken over my possessions and is using them as her own, I want my husband to myself because I can’t manage sharing him,” she said.
Despite the best efforts of the Court to mediate a reconciliation between the estranged couple, Phiri stood his ground and remained resolute in his decision to cut all ties with Tembo.
And presiding over the case, senior magistrate Lewis Mumba asserted that the court does not force reconciliation if one of the parties involved does not desire it, given the circumstances beyond the case.
Magistrate Mumba advised the parties to pursue a divorce, stating that in order to identify the root of the problem and provide a resolution, it is recommended that either of the parties involved apply for divorce.
By Sharon Zulu
Kalemba July 3, 2025
