Three wives all have equal status
The case of a wealthy man who is now dead, his three wives and one estate from which all three women wanted to benefit was the subject of an application before the Mpumalanga High Court (Mbombela), says a Pretoria News report.
The court commented in the opening to its judgment that ‘this is the story of the untimely death of a very wealthy man'.
'As a rich man should, he had three wives,' it noted.
The court was asked to declare that the man had been customarily married to the applicant, Thandi Zwane, and the other two wives – Mary Zwane, the first respondent, and Joan Zwane – and that they were all three thus on equal footing. Claiming she was the first and only wife, as she was married to the man civilly, the application was vigorously opposed by Mary.
She insisted on the other customary marriages being nullified.
The Master of the High Court, who is dealing with the estate of the deceased, was earlier ordered to hold everything on ice and not to distribute the assets, pending the outcome of the statuses of the man’s marriages to his three wives.
After the man’s death in February 2019, his three wives had mourned his death together, the court was told.
It was said that soon afterwards, the man and Mary’s marriage had been registered, with the consent and blessing of all present at the family meeting.
The court heard Mary’s case is based on her marriage to the man being civil and, therefore, the only legitimate marriage, notes the Pretoria News report.
It was argued on her behalf that as such, the man’s marriages to the applicant and Joan could not be legitimate, although they had both been known to be the man’s female companions.
The court said it was important to recognise what hinged on the order. Should it be ruled that Mary – in having been civilly married to the man – was his first and only legal wife, the other two wives would not be placed on an equal footing and would not inherit from the his estate.
The court said all three wives had been married to the man for a long time. At the time of his death, there was no reason why they should not all be afforded equal protection before the law.
‘The community’s interest would expect no less,’ the court said.
It was ordered that Mary’s civil marriage to the man should have equal status to the customary marriages of the man and his other two wives.
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.
