A man sued for child support shocked Matero Local Court, Zambia, when he refused to pay, claiming the baby was too dark-skinned and bore no resemblance to him.
Gift Zulu, who is light-complexioned, also asked the court not to order him to support his girlfriend’s child because she had given the baby another man’s name and refused to use the name he had chosen.
The case was brought by Elizabeth Nkole, who is the grandmother of Zulu’s estranged girlfriend, Rosemary Mumbo.
In his defense, Zulu told the court that he had been in a relationship with Rosemary and when she became pregnant, he accepted responsibility, as they had been together for over two years.
He said he began sending money to support her.
Zulu said that shortly after, he was transferred from Lusaka to work in Kitwe.
“I accepted the pregnancy because I loved her,” Zulu said.
“I even started sending her money to maintain the pregnancy.”
He said that when it was time for the baby to be delivered, he went to her house with his mother.
Upon arrival, he became suspicious.
“I was shocked to find that my girlfriend, who does not work and none of her relatives work either, had many baby items that I knew I had not bought. That raised serious doubts in my mind,” Zulu said.
He added that a few weeks after the child was born, he visited again and was surprised to see that although he is light-skinned, the baby was very dark and bore none of his features.
“Your honour, how can I have a child who is so dark?
“There is no way I can start paying child support for a baby who does not look like me. My siblings have children and at least those children share one or two family features, but not this one,” he said.
Zulu pleaded with the court to order a DNA test before he could be compelled to pay child support.
In her testimony, Nkole told the court that her granddaughter was only in Grade 12 when she fell pregnant.
She later learned that Zulu was responsible, but when she confronted him, he denied being the father.
“This man, together with his mother, rejected my grandson, saying he did not resemble him. They even questioned how the baby could be dark when Zulu is light-skinned,” she said.
She asked the court to order Zulu to compensate her with K50,000, arguing that her granddaughter had to stop school due to the pregnancy.
In his ruling, the magistrate, Lewis Mumba, upheld the claim after noting that the child actually bore a resemblance to Zulu despite being dark-skinned.
He ordered Zulu to compensate Nkole with K25,000, to be paid in monthly instalments of K800.
Mumba further advised Zulu to take the child for a DNA test if he still had any doubts.
