MIKE MWENDA, Lusaka
A LUSAKA husband has denied paternity of his third child because the baby has a light complexion.
Kennedy Chansa, of Zingalume Township suspects his wife Rachael Chansa was having an affair because two of their older children are much darker in complexion.
Kennedy told the Matero Local Court magistrates Pauline Newa and Lewis Mumba that problem in their marriage started after the birth of their third child whose skin is much lighter than that of the parents.
He was narrating in a case in which he sued his wife Rachael for marriage reconciliation.
He married Rachael in 2008 and the couple have three children. Bride price was paid.
Chansa, 40, told the court that problems started when they had their three-month-old baby.
The plaintiff alleges that his wife has a coloured boyfriend who stays in Chazanga Township.
He said his mother-in-law was also in a habit of insulting him and walking into their bedroom and throwing away his clothes.
He said his wife had been accusing him of being dull and incapable of helping her because he stopped working a long time ago.
“She tells me that I add no value to her life because there is nothing meaningful I do to help her. But when I was working, I was a darling. Maybe because I don’t have money now,” he said.
Chansa accused his mother-in-law of being responsible for his wife’s decision to opt for divorce.
“How can she even respect me if she can freely walk in and sit on our matrimonial bed with her daughter,” he complained.
The plaintiff told the court that from the time he got married, his mother-in-law had never liked him and always incited his wife to leave him.
But Rachel told the court that her husband is a jealous man who was fond of monitoring her whereabouts.
“My husband denies his own daughter just because she is light and he is dark and if he doubts, we should go for a DNA test,” she said.
The court reconciled the couple and ordered Rachel to stop packing goods in the house to her mother’s place every time they have an argument.