By Andrew Weddings
It is given fact that if it were not for marriage, the human population would dwindle, or even go extinct. Traditionally, marriage is celebrated as it marks the beginning of a new chapter in someone’s life, where an individual leaves their parents to start a new life with their partner. However, unexpected challenges that arise in daily life prompt couples to file for divorce.
This is the case with Chitipa district, where the number of divorce cases handled has risen to 645 from January-November 2025.
“Many people in Chitipa like travelling to neighbouring countries like; Tanzania and Zambia looking for employment opportunities. They leave behind their wives and children helpless,” says a Chitipa District First Grade Magistrate, Billy Wankaya Ngosi.
To date, the statistics obtained from Chitipa Magistrate court reveals that more than two cases of divorce are handled per day in Chitipa district court, Kameme, Chinunkha, Misuku and Nthalire courts.
“It is true; couples are divorcing almost each and every day here in Chitipa. The district is registering more than two cases per day. So you can just imagine if two cases are presided over per day, what about a month, or a year?” Ngosi explains.
He notes that in Chitipa, many people enjoy drinking beer and, sometimes, both husbands and wives go to drinking joints together, where they encounter and flirt with other partners, leading to divorce.
Ngosi further explains that most people in the district are finding it hard to support their families due to absolute poverty, which makes men abandon their families and stay somewhere else, leaving wives and children without support.
According to the World Bank, Malawi’s poverty rate now stands at 75.4 percent, thus way over half of the population living below national poverty level.
“Some men run away from their responsibility, leaving a wife and children without support because of poverty,” he says.
Since time immemorial, men are traditionally expected to provide for their families by providing food, clothing, and shelter through various income-generating activities.
However, Ngosi observes that women empowerment, which aims to promote equality and opportunities for women, has sometimes been misinterpreted as a means for women to do everything on their own without needing a husband.
“Nowadays women have been empowered to run small scale businesses unlike in the past. And when they generate income, it makes them think they can stay and support themselves in the absence of a husband,” Ngosi says.
He adds that before making a judgment, two key issues are addressed; childcare and asset division.
“We consider the person who has the ability and capacity to take care of the children, as well as the behaviour of the couples. When dividing assets, we first determine whether they were acquired jointly or not. As a court, we do not divide property that each individual brought into the marriage or acquired independently,” he says.
A woman (name withheld) who divorced her husband says despite her ex-husband providing everything at home, including food, clothes for the children, and paying bills, promiscuity was the problem that prompted her to file for divorce.
“I cannot lie here; my ex-husband was a good provider at home. He would buy food, clothes and pay bills, but the only challenge was that he was a womaniser. Sometimes he would come home late at night, and yet he is not an imbiber. I had to endure stress, not knowing where he was all the time,” she explains.
With various initiatives aimed at empowering women in the country to engage in various income generating activities, such as Village Savings and Loan groups (VSLs), she said she is now selling tomatoes and fish, among other things, which enables her to take care of herself and two children.
“I am now an independent woman as I am able to provide basic needs for my children through my business, though he also still sends help as ordered by the court,” she adds.
According to the woman, divorce was like a relief to the problems she was passing through while staying with her ex-husband.
“I am now a stress-free woman, and I am comfortable staying alone without a man. So far I do not have plans of getting married again, marriage was like a burden to me,” she says.
While divorced women complain about husbands being promiscuous to them, divorced husbands also bring the same issue in court.
“I divorced my ex-wife, with whom I have three children, because I caught her red-handed having an affair with another man in our matrimonial bed in our house. It really pained me,” explains one man.
This makes promiscuity among married couples a core ground for filing divorce in Chitipa district.
However, according to Senior Chief Mwaulambya, lack of understanding of cultural values has also contributed to the breakdown of marriages in this generation.
He observes that in the past marriage was like an institution, if one fails to go further with education, the alternative was marriage.
“This new generation is totally different from our old generation, where marriage was valued a lot. Some people could say that if I fail to get my education, I will get married. Today it is a different case as many people fail to understand the reason why a person should get married in the first place.
“Is it for sexual appeasement? Or because it is an institution? If they understand why they should get married I do not think they can divorce,” Senior Chief Mwabulambya says.
He adds that a community full of divorce cannot make a good community, as children who stay without full support from both parents cannot grow well.
“I urge the people of Chitipa not to divorce. If they divorce, what type of community are we going to create? A society full of children from divorced families?” he asks.
Tubepoka Development Initiative Executive Director Paul Ng’ambi describes the divorce figures as alarming, saying his organization will take up the issue with church leaders.
“It is high time we enhanced collective efforts, including the church. This just shows how deep moral erosion has become. If the family is finished then no institution will remain standing,” Ng’ambi says.
