‘SWAZI LAW MARRIAGE EQUAL TO CIVIL RITES’

MBABANE – Civil rites marriage is not superior to Swazi Law and Custom marriage.

This was the finding of the Supreme Court judges in the matter where a man wanted to declare that his civil rites marriage was automatically dissolved after their Swazi Law and Custom marriage was dissolved.

Mduduzi Masiko Dlamini and Philile Nonhlanhla Dlamini (nee Ndzinisa) were in a dual marriage. The parties were first married by customary rites (through the kuteka custom) during the year 2001 and in January 2002 they were married through civil rites marriage in Manzini.

The Supreme Court judges who heard the matter were Justices Benjamin Odoki, Majehenkhaba Dlamini and Robert Cloete.
Judge Dlamini said clearly what the parties entered into was what was termed ‘dual marriage’ where the customary and civil rites marriage co-existed.

“Unless otherwise specifically provided such an arrangement introduces in the life of the parties a conflict of laws situation in terms of which the legal systems compete for domination requiring the court to determine which system trumps the other,” said Judge Dlamini.
He pointed out that this conflict of laws at personal level had been avoided by simply assuming that the first marriage defined the choice of law to apply in the marriage.

The judge said this was so because both marriage types were lawful and equal in this country.
In the present matter, he noted that the declaration sought in prayer two required to have declared that Swazi Law and Custom was the only legal regime in marriage of the parties and the civil rites marriage was not a real marriage but just a celebration to placate Christians within the families of the parties.

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