By Patson Chilemba
Zambia’s High Commissioner to Australia Frank Bwalya, and his wife Joyce have finally sent their female-Zambian chef packing after protracted quarrels which eventually involved the Australian government to resolve them.
Well placed sources have told Daily Revelation that the Zambian chef, bana Chanda finally left the High Commissioner’s residence in Canberra over the weekend for Sydney where she will fly to South Africa and eventually Zambia during this very week, via Ethiopian Airlines.
The sources said the Australian government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) resolved to cancel bana Chanda’s visa, after High Commissioner Bwalya, his wife and staff from the Embassy ganged up to dismiss her side of the story, that she was being mistreated by Joyce.
The sources have disclosed that a Philippine women would for now take up the cooking duties until a permanent replacement was found.
Sources have said bana Chanda was finally fired from her job at the residence over allegations bordering on the use of charms, after Bwalya’s wife found a snail in the cup.
There are allegations that bana Chanda was viewed to be jealousy of the Bwalya’s marriage, something the chef has rejected as simply an excuse to get rid of her, on reports that Joyce had never liked her since she moved into the residence.
“To bring you up to speed, yes the chef has been complaining about the alleged mistreatment by the madam, but what sort of broke the camel’s back was a situation where bana Chanda was called to the kitchen by the madam, as she was holding a cup that had a snail in it. She told bana Chanda that she had called her to show her the snail she found in the cup so she would not refuse once she showed the same to High Commissioner,” the sources said. “Of course the chef has been arguing during the meetings, wondering how a snail could have gotten from outside, onto the tray and finally into the cup.”
The sources said bana Chanda had been insistent during the meetings on her position that High Commissioner Bwalya cautioned her about his wife, to be careful as she could create a situation which was going to lead him to fire her.
Well placed sources familiar with the matter told Daily Revelation that there have been serious problems between the Bwalya’s and bana Chanda who was employed by the Zambian government and attached to the High Commissioner as chef at the envoy’s residence.
Sources said the alleged mistreatment of bana Chanda eventually led to the termination of her employment.