A man of Lusaka has been sued by his late wife’s family for allegedly secretly organising a memorial service and tombstone unveiling for his spouse.
Dumisani Banda, the deceased’s brother, wants the court to prevent Edwin Makuya from holding any further memorial service and placing a tombstone on Sinazeni Banda’s grave.
Mr Banda wants the court to restrain Mr Makuya and the latter’s distant cousin, Jinga Zunda, from holding Sinazeni’s memorial service in the absence of the deceased’s parents.
He further seeks a declaration that Sinazeni’s grave and site does not belong to Mr Zunda but the plaintiff and his family.
Mr Banda also wants an order that Mr Makuya and his family cannot, without the involvement of the plaintiff’s family, hold a memorial service in future, or place a tombstone on Sinazeni’s grave or perform any ritual there. He also wants damages for mental anguish and distress.
In a statement of claim before the High Court, Mr Banda explains that Mr Makuya was married to his late sister, Sinazeni, who died on February 2, 2022.
At the time of her death, Sinazeni was married to Mr Makuya, who later remarried after the former’s demise. “During her funeral, it was decided that she would be buried at [Leopards Hill] Memorial Park and that family and friends should put money together to purchase the gravesite,” Mr Banda submits. Sinazeni’s maiden family and her former school and university mates contributed most of the money to buy the gravesite at Memorial Park.
“Suffice to mention that her husband (Mr Makuya) then and his family also minimally contributed,” he submits. When it was time to buy the gravesite, Mr Zunda and Mr Makuya, and the plaintiff’s brother Temba Banda, were tasked to manage the issue. “When Mr Zunda and Temba reached Memorial Park, they were presented with a contract which was signed by Mr Zunda, and Temba was the witness.”
Mr Banda adds that sometime in February this year, he received a phone call from the deceased’s friend asking if the Banda family was aware of a memorial service and unveiling of Sinazeni’s tombstone.
