Last week’s Constitutional Court ruling has just made Nkosinathi ‘Black Coffee’ Maphumulo’s legal strategy a whole lot more expensive – and a lot less likely to succeed.

As previously reported, it declared that antenuptial agreements signed after a traditional marriage are worthless. 

For the multimillionaire DJ, this means his customary marriage to Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa isn’t just culturally significant – it’s legally bulletproof. The financial implications are staggering.

City Press reports that Maphumulo now faces paying Mlotshwa more than R60 000 monthly in spousal maintenance, plus R25 000 in child support for each of their two children. That’s more than R110 000 flowing out of his accounts every month.

The couple married customarily in 2011 and later entered into a civil marriage in 2017.

In 2019, Mlotshwa confirmed that they had separated and that she had filed for divorce.

Responding to a post on social media, Maphumulo maintained that he and Mlotshwa were never in a customary marriage.

Acknowledging that his comments might put him at odds with his legal team, but said remaining quiet had not worked in his favour. He said there was no intention to enter into one and claimed there was no evidence to support that such a marriage existed.

Maphumulo further stated that the prenuptial agreement they signed was meant as a step towards a civil marriage, adding that they were not married at the time the agreement was concluded.

However, reacting to the ruling in relation to Maphumulo’s legal challenge, Kholofelo Mashitisho, managing director of Mashitisho Attorneys, said she was ‘100%’ certain that it favoured Mlotshwa. 

City Press reports that legal experts are calling this a game-changer for an area of law that has historically left countless South Africans – especially women – financially exposed and legally vulnerable.

The Black Coffee case sparked debate about whether customary marriages are automatically in community of property and how assets and responsibilities should be handled after separation.

It also highlighted misconceptions that customary marriages are less binding than civil ones. 

Lesala Mofokeng, an expert in customary law and decolonisation, outlined the potential fallout from this judgment, which could significantly affect countless families across various communities.

The Sunday Tribune reports that Mofokeng said the court decision invalidates many antenuptial contracts concluded regarding their civil marriages for couples who have previously entered into customary marriages, which by default, are marriages in community of property.

‘The scary part of this judgment is that it will affect a lot of communities, and for a lot of African people who are subjects of customary law and culture, this will be disastrous,’ he said.

Full City Press report

Full Sunday Tribune report