A female pastor of Rainbow Church and Music Ministries in Lusaka’s Chawama Township has asked the High Court to nullify her seven-month old marriage to a fellow pastor on grounds that the marriage has not been consummated as there is no sexual intercourse in their home.

court where the hearing was held

In her petition for the nullification of marriage, Mary Moyo complained that she only found out that her husband had erectile malfunctions when they were already married.

A marriage can be annulled (declared null) if it wasn’t consummated – you haven’t had sex with the person you married since the wedding.

Moyo submitted that she lawfully married Nicholas St John Masson; a fellow pastor at Exploits with Jesus in Lusaka on August 29, 2016.
Moyo submitted that when she married Masson, she moved in with him and they shared a bed but that he opted to sleep in a short strapped with a belt.
She complained that several attempts to have sex with him failed completely.
Moyo submitted that it was after intense interrogations that Masson told her that the reason why he used to refuse to have sex with her was because prior to their marriage, he had undergone a medical operation that left him with erectile malfunctions.

She stated that the couple later sought medical remedies but to no avail.
“On 22nd December, 2016 the petitioner left the matrimonial home due to the fact that she was deceived into believing that the respondent (husband) had capacity to consummate whilst he knew that his medical condition was incurable and he did not bring it to the attention of the petitioner,” reads part of the petition.
Moyo has since asked the court to declare the said marriage a nullity.
The two were both widowed before they got married and they have children from their previous marriages.