AGAINST her upbringing as a decent Seventh Day Adventist, a 19-year old female student of Rockview University in Lusaka has ditched school and taken herself into an illegal marriage to a barber who is ploughing her day and night like a field of sweet potatoes.
In the aftermath of Chola Kamaya’s actions, her disappointed father Chinoya Kamaya aged 49 of Old Kanyama ran to the Lusaka Boma Local Court arguing that there was no way a 27-year old barberman would be staying with and enjoying his nubile daughter without having paid a single ngwee.
The Church elder of Kanyama SDA branch asked the court to compel Mundia pay K13,000 as compensation for eloping with his daughter especially with what he had put into her education.
Kamaya told the court that he had paid his daughter’s University tuition fees and requirements this year, but to his surprise, he found out on August 19, 2023, she had not been school but staying at her boyfriend’s place.
He narrated that one night, when his daughter, Chola was during holidays, he asked her younger sister to fetch her for him as he needed to give her money for other remaining school requirements, but that she was not in her room.
She illegally went to spend a night at her lover’s house, and only returned home the next day at 06:00 hours.
“I asked her where she spent her night and she lied to me saying that she slept in my house. That angered me and I asked her to leave my presence. But to my surprise, she went back to the same man’s place where she stayed for two more moths,” said Kamaya.
He said his family then later went to Mundia’s place and held a meeting with his parent’s where they agreed to pay a sum of K13, 500 as compensation for elopement, in three installments. But that the money was never paid until date, prompting Kamaya to go to court.
“In my surprise, my daughter sent me a message after I asked her boyfriend for the money that I should stop bothering him about the elopement money as the economy is hard on everyone and he will pay at his own convenient time,” Kamaya complained.
Meanwhile, Mundia told court that he was not going to pay the elopement charge because he did not fetch Chola from her place as Kamaya chased her on his own.
He said that he could not take her back to her parent’s house in the two months they cohabitated because he was too busy looking for a job everyday. “am jobless and we eat at my brother’s house. I cant even afford to feed her to talk of paying a K13,500 for elopement,” Mundia said.
But his lover Chola had a different story, she said Mundia had become her husband and that he managed to feed her three times everyday as he runs a barber shop.
She went on to say, she is no longer interested in going to school as all she wants is Marriage with him even if he pays nothing to her father.
“Am okay with him staying with me for free,” Chola told the court.
However, in passing judgement, Magistrate Lombe Chibesakunda upheld the claim of compensation for elopement and ordered that Mundia paid the same agreed upon amount. “The court shall not add or remove from the initial agreed amount. The defendant shall pay K13, 500 for elopement in installments of K500 with K1,000 first installment effective this month end,” said Magistrate Chibesakunda.
By Buumba Mwitumwa
Kalemba
