A LUSAKA married man has dragged his wife to court, lamenting that she does not prepare nshima with beef or chicken, despite him leaving her with a K50 everyday to buy mealie meal, charcoal and relish.
This is in a case where 42-year-old Aaron Mumba of Lusaka’s Garden Compound turned the Matero Local Courtroom into a site of laughter after accusing his wife of 16-years, Naomi Jere, 30, of not respecting him and adhering to his demands.
Mumba revealed that he earns K150 per day and despite this seemingly modest income, he routinely provides K50 of his earnings to his wife for cooking supplies, with the expectation that she would prepare traditional dishes like nshima, beef or chicken.
According to Mumba, the K150 he earns each day is expected to cover a range of expenses including the cost of school fees for their two children, rent payments and a K50 allocated to his wife.
He reiterated his frustration with his wife’s insistence on receiving the K50 daily, stating that this made it challenging for him to manage his finances and support his family effectively.
Mumba further explained that he desires to take charge of grocery shopping, believing that his wife was not effectively using the K50 he provided everyday.
“Whenever I leave money with her, she does nothing and if I suggest that I should buy the relish myself at the market before going to work, she accuses me of becoming an economist and interfering in kitchen matters,” said Mumba.
He stated that whenever they argue about money issues, he leaves their daughter with money to give her but instead, she accuses him of wanting to marry his daughter instead of her.
“I want her to follow my orders as a man of the house. She should realise that I do not make a lot of money, and what she does with it affects our family’s well-being,” added Mumba.
But Jere argued that whenever Mumba leaves her with a K50, he expects her to even return some change despite it not being enough to buy the meat or chicken he expects.
She stated that a year can pass in their home without tasting a bone of chicken or meat not even Easterners delicacy of a mouse, land on their taste buds.
Jere accused Mumba of counting money from the toilet before removing a K50 to give her to take care of the house.
“There are times when my husband returns home carrying onions, tomatoes, and mealie meal in plastic bags, holding them in his pockets instead of leaving the task of buying ingredients to me, his wife,” she said.
“I love my husband but balikwata akaso akabi nobutani,” she added.
“I will not allow him to take charge of buying relish but if he wants me to cook meat, then I suggest that he should be leaving me with at least K100 per day,” she demanded.
In her ruling, Magistrate Harriet Mulenga turned her attention to Mumba’s unrealistic expectation for meat-based meals given the inadequate K50 budget and questioned if he desired to become a vegetarian.
Magistrate Mulenga acknowledged the financial hardships faced by many households, stating that the economy has been crippling and things have become expensive hence, K50 is not enough for one to maintain a house, let alone purchase meat for meals.
She then decided to adjourn the matter to August 15, 2025, with the aim of allowing the couple sufficient time to resolve their dispute outside of court.
“The case is adjourned until August 15, 2025 for possible reconciliation. Mumba, you are hereby ordered to provide your wife with K100 per day until the adjourned date, so that we may evaluate any progress made in your household’s situation, just maybe there can be an aroma of meat or chicken in the house,” ruled the magistrate.
By Sharon Zulu
Kalemba July 11, 2025
