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DUNAMIS Christian Church
founder Pastor Dan Pule faces possible arrest for suspected bigamy
after he married a third wife on Friday.
This follows a
complaint to the police in Lusaka yesterday by a
27-year-old Lusaka woman, Leah Mulemba, who
claims to be still legally married to Pastor Pule.
Pastor
Pule married Tamara Mwape and held a wedding reception at
Intercontinental Hotel on Friday night.
In an interview
yesterday, Leah said she decided to report Pastor Pule to the police
after she received a phone call from a well-wisher that he had just
married another woman.
“I was surprised to hear that he has
gotten married.
I
got a call around 16:00 hours on Friday that Dr
Pule is getting married. But as far as I am concerned, I am still
legally married to him and we are just on separation,” Leah said.
“It has been difficult for me to talk to him because he has barred
my phone number, he can’t take my calls.”
She said her
marriage with Pastor Pule was still valid because they married under
the marriage Act and what Pastor Pule had done constituted an
offence of bigamy.
Leah said she reported the matter to
Lusaka police commanding officer Greenwell
Ng’uni. She said the police promised to investigate the matter to
ascertain whether indeed Pastor Pule had married another woman
whilst married to her.
When contacted for comment, Ng’uni
declined to comment on the matter.
Leah narrated that in December
last year, Pastor Pule made her sign a document to signify that
their marriage had been dissolved.
“In December 2007 he gave me a bogus
document which he asked me to sign and he gave me a car and some
money for up keep. He said that that document symbolised that we had
divorced but it’s not legally binding.
I am still married to Dr Pule because our
marriage certificate still stands and the documents that purport to
dissolve the marriage is illegal and Dr Pule and Pastor Cosmas
Mwananshiku know that,” Leah said. “Dr Pule made me to sign that
document under pressure because at the time I was pregnant for him
and now I have a baby girl aged four months.”
She said from
the time the baby was born, Pastor Pule had not provided support for
her.
“We planned for this child together. He wanted this child
but he is not supporting the child since the child was born. It
takes a man to have a child but it takes a father to be responsible.
As far as I am concerned, he is not responsible,” Leah said. “He
asked me to give him this child. He has children with his white wife
Janet. He said his
children with Janet can’t aspire for leadership because they are of
mixed race. His idea was to have children with me for leadership
purposes so that they can be leaders. But now he is not caring for
this child.”
Leah said even before the child was born, she
had asked Pastor Pule for support and help but he
refused.
“He said ‘we don’t talk about the unborn child, what
if it dies?’” Leah said.
She said she conceived during her
separation with Pastor Pule.
“He came back to me and asked me
to have a child with him after he was anointed with that olivine oil
at Church,” Leah said. “We planned for this child together because
we were still married, we are still married because all I have is a
marriage certificate and not a divorce certificate.”
She said
the time she was still living with Pastor Pule, he would leave the
house under the pretext that he was going to pray for Tamara’s
ailing husband who has since died.
“Tamara would also call at
night and when answering Dr Pule would scream, ‘nabafwa’? has
he died? In reference to Mr Mwape who was sick This shows that
he wanted to marry Tamara long before her husband even died,” Leah
said.
Leah said when she told Pastor Pule that they should
seek the help of counsellors at church for reconciliation,
especially his affair with Tamara, he refused to reconcile with
her.
“He said ‘everybody at Dunamis is my junior, I own
Dunamis and I have title deeds to it’,” Leah narrated.
Pastor
Pule and Tamara had a wedding reception at Intercontinental Hotel in
Lusaka on Friday.
The wedding reception
was closed to the media and invited guests were thoroughly
scrutinised by security personnel from Octopus Security (OSS) that
beefed up the security provided by the hotel.
Pastor Pule and
Tamara arrived at the hotel at around 20:54 hours as the invited
guests burst into ululations and praises when the master of
ceremonies announced their arrival.
“The new couple in the house,
I want you people gathered in here to join me in welcoming Mr and
Mrs Pule,” the master of ceremonies announced to the delight of the
guests. The women in the audience shouted, “Apopene! Praise
God!”
There were 19 tables with eight chairs on each, with
the capacity to accommodate about 150 people although just about 130
guests attended the function, most of whom were pastors and their
spouses.
Pastor Pule was dressed in a white suit, black shirt
and tie while Tamara wore a white wedding dressing with black flower
spots. Both wore new sparkling wedding rings.
As the couple was
coming into the main ballroom through the back entrance, all pastors
and their spouses were asked to welcome them and join the couple
dance to their seats.
Pastor Pule and Tamara danced vigorously
before they sat down.
Thereafter, maAfrica gospel music group
sang a special song for the couple compelling Tamara to join in the
dance.
No scriptures were read but two prayers were offered;
one for the food and the other at the end of the
ceremony.
The ceremony was mainly characterised by singing
and dancing.
Pastor Pule amazed people when he started dancing
vigorously as his church singers sang an old traditional song,
amasha yabakulu kuboko.
A visibly jubilant Pastor Pule danced
and raised his arms like a break dance performer.
The guests
burst into laughter and ululations as Pastor Pule
danced.
Later Pastor Pule and Tamara were invited to cut the
cake after which they kissed. The couple later danced to a song
titled: ‘Come and see what the Lord has done for me’.
“Somone
efwo banchitila ba yawe, come and see what the Lord has done for me,
come and see what the lord has done for me,” Pastor Pule sang as his
wife joined in. Pastor Pule and Tamara held each other close as they
danced. Almost all guests joined in the dance and congratulated the
couple.
There was jubilation throughout the whole ceremony as
people continually danced to gospel music by the Dunamis Church
Choir and maAfrica.
Tamara and Pastor Pule kept on gazing at
each other throughout the ceremony.
A prophet Sailota prayed for
the success of the marriage.
“Bless them and I thank you Lord
in the name of Jesus Christ,” prayed prophet Sailota.
Pastor Pule
and Tamara left the hotel around 22:40 hours through the back
exit.
The room was decorated with white and black linen and
balloons, and the dress code for the ceremony was white and
black.
Pastor Pule, in September last year, denied reports
that he was planning to marry Tamara.
"I know Tamara Mwape but
there is nothing to do with me. Tamara is still mourning," said
Pastor Pule at the time. “I am not marrying anyone.”
In 2006,
Pastor Pule divorced Janet, a woman he had married for 23 years and
has four children. Janet and her children have since relocated to
the United States of America. Pastor Pule later married Leah in
January last year. However, Pastor Pule surrendered Leah to her
parents after five months. |
