Lobola First, Certificate Later: How South Africa Made Customary Marriage Equal in Law — Epoche B1
Purpose of this report Under South Africa's Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, a marriage negotiated through lobola, the bride-wealth agreed between two families, and celebrated by custom carries the same legal force as a wedding signed in front of a state officer. This report compares the two routes into one legal status. What each route requires Question Civil marriage Customary marriage Who makes it? A marriage officer, before witnesses Two families, through negotiation and celebration Main conditions Both partners adult and willing Both partners adult and willing, and married under customary law More than one spouse Not allowed Allowed, with a property contract approved by a court Property A customary marriage entered into after the Act shares one estate by default, unless the couple signs a contract first. When a husband takes a further wife, he must ask a court to approve a written contract dividing the property between the households, so that the first wife is not quietly reduced. The registration gap The Act states that failure to register does not make a customary marriage invalid. Registration is proof, not creation. Yet proof is exactly what a widow needs. The elders say that a person is a person through other people, and the families who sat together over the lobola remember every promise. A pension office, however, reads certificates. Many customary marriages remain unregistered, and at her husband's death a widow may spend months proving what her village never doubted. Recommendation Register soon after the celebration. Custom makes the marriage; the certificate makes it visible to strangers. References Republic of South Africa (1998). Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998. Government Printer, Pretoria. Constitutional Court of South Africa (2009). Gumede v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others. 2009 (3) SA 152 (CC). Himonga, C., & Moore, E. (2015). Reform of Customary Marriage, Divorce and Succession in South Africa: Living Customary Law and Social Realities. Juta, Cape Town.