Angry that her boyfriend answered his wife’s phone call while they were together, a 22-year-old University of Zambia student resorted to vi0lence, damaging a car and destroying documents, the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court has heard.
The car whose windscreen was shuttered belonged to Sherine Musonda – her husband borrowed it and went to see his 22-year-old, girlfriend, Diana.
The matter was reported to the police and Diana has now been indicted for malicious damage to property for shuttering the windscreen.
The court heard that Diana of Kabanana area is on July 27 2019 alleged to have damaged a windscreen, compartment and front bumper of a Toyota Auris, valued at K10,000, belonging to Musonda.
It is alleged that Diana caused damage to the vehicle in protest of her lover’s decision to pick up phone calls from his wife whilst they were together.
When the matter came up for trial before magistrate Nsunge Chanda the complainant told the court that on the material day, her husband left home around 20:00 hours with her vehicle.
Musonda narrated that her phone battery was low and when she decided to charge it she realised that that she had forgotten the charger in her car.
She said that she called her husband to ask him if he could go back home and leave the charger which she had forgotten in her vehicle as the battery was low.
Musonda said during the conversation she noticed that her husband stopped responding and she later heard a woman interrogating him in the background as he did not cut the call.
“I heard Diana shouting in the background [during the conversation] asking him why he (her spouse) picks up my calls when she [Diana] is with him,” Musonda said.
“I then cut the call and later sent him a text to ask if he was alright since I heard him fighting with someone in the background during the phone call but he never replied to my text message”.
Musonda said her husband returned at midnight and when she asked for her car key he was hesitant to surrender them. She said her husband gave her the keys and when she went to get the charger she discovered that her vehicle was damaged.
She said the windscreen was smashed and her credentials among them a grade 12 certificate and degree, which were in the vehicle were torn by the accused.
Musonda added that her antenatal card was torn despite Diana being aware that she was pregnant.
She said when confronting her husband about what transpired he disclosed that Diana damaged it after he broke up with her, as a way of venting her anger.
Musonda said she did not mind her husband’s pepertual behavior of cheating as she had decided to ignore him but was angered that her vehicle was damaged by Kashinka.
“I have been tolerating Diana for years, but what angered me is that she damaged my car and my credentials. I then reported the matter to police” Musonda said.
