Charles Chibesa from Lusaka, Zambia, was able to track his wife’s movement to a hotel room in Jesmondine and found that she was with a man surnamed Mulundika Mukelebai in the middle of the night.
He later pinpoints his wife’s exact location, in the room on the sixth floor of the hotel.
He went on to call three other people to serve as witnesses while he caught the cheating wife and the man in action.
Although the hotel staff refused to give them the room key, they headed over to the room and started knocking.
After knocking for a while, his wife opened the door and Chibesa pushed his way into the room to catch the man with her.
After searching for a while, he was not able to find the so-called cheat in the room.
As he was trying to apologise to his wife for the misunderstanding, his friend who stayed on the first floor told him that there was an accident—he found a lifeless body of a person who seemed to have fallen from the building.
After calling the police emergency number, 110, and police confirming that the man who fell down from the building is indeed the person who entered the room with Chibesa’s wife, Mr. Chibesa, his wife, and the other three people were taken to the police station for questioning.
Chibesa’s wife told the police that she had gone to the hotel room with Mulundika Mukelebai that night.
At around 1:00 am, they heard knocks on the door and on realising that the man knocking was her husband they both quickly put on their clothes.
Mulundika opened the room’s window and saw an air conditioner heat exchanger; he climbed the window and stood on the heat exchanger to avoid getting caught.
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“At the time, I told him to get back into the room because it was too dangerous, but he insisted that there is a pipe that he can use to climb down the building.” The wife told the police.
After assurance from Mulundika, she closed the window and curtain and she never anticipated that Mulundika would fall down.
What might have otherwise been a straightforward case took a different turn when Mulundika’s family pursued legal action, despite evidence suggesting that his death resulted from his own actions. The evidence presented included an admission of infidelity by his wife and accounts indicating that Mulundika climbed out of the window of his own accord.
Nevertheless, the family advanced an alternative theory and filed a lawsuit against Chibesa, his three friends, the hotel, and Mulundika’s wife, seeking damages totaling 1,300,000.
According to the family, Chibesa and his companions allegedly surrounded and threatened Mulundika, leaving him with no safe means of escape. They argued that, in fear for his safety, he was forced to climb out of the window in an attempt to flee—an action they claim directly led to his death.
The family further contended that the hotel should be held liable for failing to ensure the safety of its guests. They questioned how individuals who were neither registered guests nor staff were able to access the hotel corridor and locate a specific room.
“How were they able to enter the hotel and go to a certain room? Isn’t this a security breach?” a family member asked.
In their conclusion, the family maintained that Mulundika’s death could have been prevented if the hotel had implemented stronger management and security measures.
In response, the hotel argued that it had adhered to all national regulations and standard management protocols. It stated that Mulundika had deliberately bypassed multiple safety measures, including physical barriers designed to prevent guests from exiting through the windows.
The hotel also emphasized that clear warning signs had been placed to discourage such actions, but these were ignored. As an adult, they argued, Mulundika bore responsibility for his decisions and the violations committed during his stay.
The hotel concluded by stating it would accept any penalties if found liable by the court.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge expressed sympathy for the family, acknowledging the tragic nature of Mulundika’s death and the pain of their loss. However, after reviewing the evidence, the court found that Mulundika had climbed out of the window voluntarily, before Chibesa and his friends entered the room.
The judge noted that, as an adult, Mulundika should have understood the risks associated with climbing out of a sixth-floor window. The court ruled that his death was the result of an unfortunate accident caused by his own actions, rather than coercion by others.
Accordingly, the court held that no other party—including Chibesa, his wife, his friends, or the hotel—could be held legally responsible. The judge further stated that existing laws do not provide protection for actions of this nature.
The case was therefore dismissed.
