AUDIO LAYS BARE ‘TSOTSI’, EX-WIFE’S MARITAL PROBLEMS

MBABANE - A voice clip of a telephone conversation between Advocate Mduduzi ‘Tsotsi’ Mabila and his now former wife has gone viral.
Mabila’s former wife is Siphiwo Masuku, the Registrar of the High Court.

Their divorce was recently finalised in court. It is not clear who leaked the voice clip, which has been widely shared on social media platform WhatsApp.
It, however, seems that the telephone conversation occurred before their matter went to court, as Masuku can be heard telling Mabila what she would include in the court papers.

The recording lasts for almost 40 minutes, while the former couple discusses similar issues.
Mabila can also be heard telling Masuku to record the call, which is mainly about their matrimonial homestead at Jubukweni, a rural setting located at least 30 kilometres from the country’s capital, Mbabane.

Masuku tells Mabila that she does not want the homestead, and she just wants a decree of divorce.
She also swears that she will do anything in her quest for her freedom.

At some point, she says culturally a home belongs to the wife. She also asks the advocate that if a wife was wayward, did it mean that the homestead no longer belonged to her?

Mabila, in turn, asks Masuku to write to the Jubukweni royal kraal (umphakatsi), which holds sway over a couple’s marriage, stating that she no longer wanted the homestead, something she said she would do after getting the divorce decree.

Mabila tells Masuku not to come to the homestead, which she responds to by saying she will come at any time, but would not come when Mabila was around.
She also tells him that she told the royal kraal during a meeting that she no longer loved Mabila. She repeats many times during the conversation that she has fallen out of love with Mabila.

The former couple also speaks about a verdict from the umphakatsi, which they were apparently waiting for.
Masuku also tells Mabila not to call her for any petty stuff, and says he should only call when he wants to speak about their child – a son.
She further says she will come out guns blazing as he was frustrating her when she told him she no longer loved him.

Mabila says there is no need for her to come out guns blazing as they are not fighting, and Masuku says it is a war, not just between the two of them, but it also involved their families.
She further says that Mabila would not want to be seen as a man who did not want to let go of someone who no longer loved him.

At many points during the conversation, Masuku tells Mabila that they are both learned and they are both lawyers.
Masuku also said she was happy that Mabila was in a relationship with someone new.
At some other point in the conversation, they also mention that Masuku is also involved in another relationship.

Masuku admits affair

Masuku admits that she had this relationship before their marriage even hit the rocks.
Some of the terms which were used during the conversation cannot be repeated as they were derogatory.
Masuku further tells Mabila that when she makes the court application for the dissolution of the marriage, she would include that she was not interested in the consequences of the marriage.

Mabila says he does not want a particular judge to sit on the matter, to which Masuku responds that it will be dealt with by the judge who is on duty.
Masuku also tells Mabila not to coach her on what to write in her court papers as that would be between her and her lawyers.

Before she discontinues the conversation, she tells Mabila that she can no longer carry on with the conversation as someone has come to fetch her, and she does not want them to hear the conversation.

When the Times SUNDAY contacted Mabila on the audio, he responded by stating that he had not heard the recording, and that he did not care about it.
He said all he cared about was his child and his homestead, and as long as he had these he did not care about anything else.
Masuku was also contacted and also said she had no comment on the matter.

The Swazi News reported last weekend that the couple were no longer married after the High Court granted the application that was filed by Masuku, where she sought an order declaring her marriage to the prominent advocate properly dissolved in terms of Eswatini Law and Custom.

She also wanted the court to direct the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths to cancel the entry of the marriage from the registry.
In terms of the order, which was issued by Judge John Magagula, Masuku will have custody of their son.

Mabila will keep the homestead they built at Jubukweni, which they had established as their matrimonial homestead.
“I further submit that with regard to the Jubukweni homestead, which we had built together, I waive all my rights and will not bother the first respondent (Mabila).

“He can do whatever he wants with it and I will not have any claim over it in the future,” Masuku submitted in her replying affidavit.

Divorce unopposed

In his affidavit, the advocate made it clear that he was not opposed to them being separated in whatever manner, which in essence meant that the application was unopposed, but he just wanted to correct certain allegations made by Masuku.

Mabila and Masuku got married on January 2, 2011 in terms of Eswatini Law and Custom at Mangwaneni in the Hhohho Region.
One child was born out of the marriage and Mduduzi had four other children from previous relationships.

They initially established their matrimonial home at Thembelihle township where they stayed together as husband and wife. Mabila paid lobola in March 2018.
In her replying papers, Masuku told the court that the process of dissolving their marriage was followed as the Mabila and Masuku families met on January 26, 2019 at their matrimonial home at Jubukweni.

“In that meeting, I bid farewell to the Mabila family and it was agreed that we had failed to resolve our disputes in the marriage. The first respondent agreed by saying ‘ok’ and the marriage was then dissolved on that day.

“On March 16, 2019, both families reported to the Jubukweni Royal Kraal about the resolution taken to dissolve the marriage but the umphakatsi would hear none of it, instead they wanted to impose decisions in this matter.

“It is my submission that all the parties who ought to have been party to the deliberations that resulted in the dissolution of our marriage did take part and a report was duly made after the event to the Jubukweni Royal Kraal as per the requirements of the dissolution process,” Masuku said.

According to Masuku, the royal kraal should have played an observer status or role and should not have taken part in the actual decision-making as this was for the two families concerned.

The observer role is the same role the royal kraal plays during a marriage ceremony within its area or jurisdiction.
Masuku said the Jubukweni Royal Kraal overstepped its jurisdiction by wanting to take part in the decision-making.

She submitted that the purpose of going Ka-Ndabazabantu (District Commissioner) was not for arbitration but was for mediation purposes because the Jubukweni Royal Kraal now wanted to be part of the decision-making instead of playing an observer role.

“I submit further that Ndabazabantu can only advise and it is up to the parties whether or not to take the advice. In this regard, Ndabazabantu advised the Masuku family to go and ‘fetch’ their daughter from the Mabila home, which process had already been done on January 26, 2019.”

In his answering affidavit, Mabila admitted to having been present at the meeting between the families and that Masuku bade farewell to the Mabila family and those present.

He also stated his intention of not wanting a restart of the whole process, which they felt would be unnecessary as all processes were completed.
“It is submitted that the marriage between myself and first respondent was properly dissolved by both families in terms of Swazi Law and Custom and the application to declare it dissolved was unopposed as first respondent has explicitly stated in his answering affidavit. It would be in the interest of justice that the entry pertaining thereto in the Marriage Register be removed,” added Masuku.

When responding to Masuku’s founding affidavit, Mabila said her family should come to Jubukweni to fetch her and they would not be prevented from doing so.

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