Stepmother sued  for tattooing girl

Sun, 24 Sep 2017 10:37:36 +0000

By FRANK NYAMBE

A 39-YEAR-OLD woman has been dragged to court in Lusaka for reconciliation for tattooing her step daughter on the waist.

This is in a case in which Maggie Batala,59, of old Kanyama compound sued Maggie Tembo, of Matero compound alleging that she tattooed her granddaughter on the waist without her consent. Batala told Senior Court Magistrate Abbyshine Michelo sitting with Magistrates Mubukwanu Matakala and Esther Mulomba at Kanyama Local Court that she has dragged Tembo to court because she tattooed her granddaughter without her consent. She explained that it pained her when she learnt that it was Tembo who tattooed her granddaughter because people say the stepmother is a cobra.

‘’The tattoos have different meanings, I have never been tattooed since I was born and Tembo is just a step mother of my granddaughter, I am worried something can happen to her in future,’’ said Batala.

In defence, Tembo said that she stayed with the girl from 2006 until now. She explained that there was a woman who was selling charms for girls so that they can perform well in bed when they get married and that it was how she allowed her to tattoo the girl because people in future may be laughing at her who raised her.

Asked by Batala if she consulted her, Tembo said that she did not consu

The girl, Christine Tembo, 17, said that she was called in the bedroom by her stepmother who asked her if she could be tattooed after explaining to her and that she admitted since she was her mother.

In submission, Batala said that she wanted a document from court in case anything happens in future. Tembo said that she was asking for forgiveness and Batala said she has forgiven her.

Magistrate Michelo said that it was true Tembo keeps the girl but tattooing brings problems because some people do not like it.

He told Batala that Tembo has listened and that the court cannot give her a document and he reconciled the parties.