THE Copperbelt local courts office has ordered a retrial of a divorce case in which a Mufulira woman is suspected to have connived with a named local court officer to defraud an army retiree of K55,000.
Caroline Ngunda, 41 of Tangup Barracks in Mufulira sued David Machile, her husband of 10 years, for divorce 10 days after he received his retirement benefits.
During judgment passed in chambers at the Mufulira main court on Monday, the court dissolved the marriage and ordered Machile, 55 to pay her K50,000 compensation, plus K5,000 and give her household goods, immediately.
When Machile objected to the judgment, the court ordered that the money be paid within two hours of the verdict, failing which he would be charged with contempt of court.
The court further ordered that Machile be accompanied to the bank by some unidentified court staff to witness the cash withdrawal and subsequent payment to Ngunda.
“I have never, in my life, seen what I have just seen. The harassment that I have been subjected to by the court is unforgettable. After all, she is the one that wanted a divorce and not me. But they even denied me chance to defend myself,” Machile complained after paying his former wife.
“They even told me not to appeal anywhere apart from Mufulira and how can a court of justice not even dare to talk about child maintenance?
This is strange. I have worked and suffered for this money to be set up in such a manner by this woman and her conspirators.”
Machile further explained that the court never gave him an opportunity to dispute the figures.
However, when the provincial local court officer only identified as Mr Chewe was informed of the case and the certificate of judgment availed to him by Machile on Tuesday, he ordered the transfer of the case records from Mufulira to Kitwe and its immediate retrial either by himself or Gladys Ngobola, the local courts officer in charge of Mufulira, Kitwe, Kalulushi and surrounding areas.
Chewe and Ngobola, who appeared shocked after looking at the certificate of judgment and upon hearing the speed at which the case was disposed of, phoned the Mufulira Local Court registry to send Ngunda a notice of hearing of the case in Kitwe.
But on Wednesday, Machile turned up in Kitwe without Ngunda, whose whereabouts were allegedly not known.
When contacted on her mobile phone, Ngunda, who sounded surprised, wondered why Machile had taken the matter to Kitwe rather than Mufulira, before she claimed later that the court registry had not served her with the summons.
Asked about her whereabouts, Ngunda said: “I am around, I am at my brother’s house within the barracks. I am not on the run. I will explain everything in court. I am waiting for those summons,” she said.
Machile has four children from his previous marriage, while Ngunda has one child from her first marriage.
The couple had one child in the 10 years they stayed together.
None of the children were mentioned as beneficiaries in the divorce judgment.