Court rejects invalid marriage claim
A Limpopo man who didn’t want his ex-wife to benefit from their joint estate during their divorce settlement, failed to convince the Limpopo High Court (Polokwane) that their marriage was invalid.
To prove their customary marriage was legal, the wife told the court that she fell pregnant in 1983. The following year, her family met with his family to negotiate lobola.
During the negotiations, she said R180 was paid to her family.
After her family accepted the money, there was a celebration to cement their union.
IoL reports that the couple went on to live together as husband and wife until they separated in 2020.
The regional court granted a decree of divorce and ordered that the joint estate be divided equally between the two parties.
Not happy with the ruling, the man approached the court to appeal the decision.
Judge Legodi Phatudi said that the evidence demonstrated that the couple consented to the customary marriage when the ex-wife moved into the ex-husband’s homestead.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
