WHILE the majority of modern-day marriages are struggling to hold, George Kapusa and Mutinta Mungoye’s 50-year-old love story defies time.
The couple has lived as husband and wife since 1975, growing old right before each other’s eyes while falling deeper and deeper in love, according to their own confessions.
It all began with stolen glances and shy letters. And like Zacchaeus from the Bible who climbed a tree just to see Jesus, a young Kapusa would sometimes climb trees just to catch a glimpse of the girl who was to become his lifetime wife.
It took the young Kapusa three years to win Mutinta’s heart, and when he did, he won it forever. She confesses her love for him, saying she loves him even more, now in old age, and only death will separate them, so she says.
Five decades later, 78 year old George still looks at his 69 year old wife, the same way he did when she used to sweep her sister’s yard in Kabwe except now, he watches her from across their modest living room in Kafue with his eyes crinkling with every quiet memory they have made together.
She shared that her husband’s temper during the first years of their marriage was as hot as a volcano. He used to erupt and roar like a hungry lion, and the consequences were dire. But as days went on, he received Jesus Christ and was appointed as an elder in the church.
He then became soft and was eventually like an angel that had just descended from heaven.
Last Sunday, the entire town of Kafue turned out to witness what many would call the love story of the century, a golden jubilee celebration at the New Apostolic Church in Kasaka that could have easily doubled as a state wedding.
Friends, family, neighbours and even strangers packed the Fisheries Training Institute Hall to honour Kapusa and Mutinta’s 50 years of unwavering love, laughter and legendary endurance.
And it seems the lovebirds are not just trending in Kafue. Kalemba visited their home to find out the secret behind their jubilee marriage.
“We have stayed together because as a wife I know that I can’t do 50/50 with my husband. Respect is very important in marriage, when he wrongs me, I don’t nag, I would rather tell my marriage counselor what is going on than argue with him. I have also stated because he has loved me like his own child. I have never lacked love in this union,” Mutinta explained as she sat on the floor of her sitting room.
“The golden rule, submit and support as a wife and as a husband, love your wife deeply.”
The couple’s house is now bustling with visitors, just as Kalemba crew concluded their interview, Zambia Daily Mail crew drove in and rumour has it that BBC and Al Jazeera are also preparing their crews to come and see for themselves.
Born in 1947 in North Western Province, George never made it past Standard Two before life summoned him to bigger things.
“I came from the village in 1965. I went to Zambezi, then Lusaka in 1968 and eventually Chipembi Farm College in Kabwe,” he shared.
But the real milestone came not from a classroom but from a broom, the one Mutinta used every morning while sweeping.
“He used to peep at me from his door,” she recalls with a laugh. “Every time I walked by, he and his friends would start laughing. He was a troublemaker!”
She was young and cautious especially after witnessing him argue with a teacher in class.
“I said, no, I can’t marry this one. He’s too violent.” But George persisted. For three years, he climbed trees, threw stones at her and even wrote a letter like Paul from the Bible, directly to her parents asking for her hand in marriage, proof that sometimes life is a Nigerian movie.
Eventually, love wore her down. “He travelled all the way from Chipembi. My parents asked me if I wanted him and I said yes because I felt pity for him that hmmm this man has travelled all the way from Chipembi to Kafue awe let me give him a chance. That was after three years of him pursuing me,” shared Mutinta.
The two later married on Good Friday, April 12, 1975, in a traditional ceremony in Kafue and from that day, their lives have been a living sermon on what love, respect and a whole lot of patience can build.
The first years of their marriage as shared by the wife were no fairy tale. He would sometimes disappear into the fields for days when upset and they could go for two weeks without talking to each other, cooking separately and barely crossing paths, so she says.
“But he never raised his hand on me. Never once. He would just go quiet and sulk. But that was only for a short while, he changed completely and it was all lovey dovey up until today,” she added.
Together, they raised 13 children, 10 of whom are still living today, four females and six males. And while their early struggles could have broken them, they chose instead to protect their love from the outside world.
“No child has ever seen us fight. If we argued, we did it behind closed doors. The bedroom is where we debated, not the living room. Our children still wonder up to now if we have ever argued but even when we went those two weeks without talking to each other in our early years of marriage, no one could tell that we were not in talking terms,” said George.
Mutinta agrees. “Nowadays, marriages don’t last because people talk too much to outsiders. We never did that. Respect was the glue.”
Ask Mutinta why she stayed for 50 years and she doesn’t flinch: “He has loved me. That’s why I stayed. He cared for me when I was sick, he helped with cooking when I was tired and he gave me respect.”
And George? “I stayed because she respected me. And she knew how to make good tea. 50/50 in a home doesn’t work. Someone has to lead and someone has to submit. That’s how we have lasted.”
Mutinta believes schools should teach the value of marriage, not just academics.
“A girl can be beautiful but if she can’t submit to her husband, she can’t stay married,” she adds.
And her advice to today’s couples? “Don’t argue with your husband in public. Don’t tell your friends everything. Dialogue. Apologise. And never let your children see your fights.”
Now in their twilight years, George and Mutinta spend most of their days quietly, sipping tea, praying together, touching each other’s old age heads and occasionally stealing glances that speak louder than words.
The children they raised now care for them, a gift they say is proof that they raised them well and Mutinta’s bride price then was only K80.
Story and pictures by Catherine Pule
Kalemba, May 17, 2025
