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MAN WANTS ADULTERY RULING OVERTURNED

03/07/2020 01:07:00 BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE

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MBABANE - The man who was fined 12 cattle for alleged adultery now wants the High Court to overturn the decision of the Masundvwini Royal Kraal Inner Council.

Nhlanhla Joseph Dlamini was fined a total of 12 cattle after the inner council purportedly found him guilty of having unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly slept with the wife of Elmon Mabuyendiya Nxumalo.

Nxumalo is a King Liaison Officer (Ndabazabantu) based in Nhlangano in the Shiselweni Region.
Dlamini has since moved an application at the High Court where he is seeking an order declaring the orders purportedly issued by the Masundvwini Royal Kraal Inner Council invalid and of no force and effect.

The orders, according to Dlamini, were issued on April 26, 2018 and September 15, 2018.
He also wants the court to review and set aside the orders issued by the inner council finding him guilty of adultery and fining him five and seven cattle respectively.

The applicant is represented by senior attorney Sabelo Bhembe of Bhembe Attorneys.

Sleeping

In his founding affidavit, Dlamini narrated that on August 16, 2017, he was called by the Masundvwini Royal Kraal Inner Council, to answer on a charge of unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly sleeping with Nxumalo’s wife. He told the court that the case was heard at the Masundvwini Royal Kraal.

He alleged that his first encounter with Nxumalo was in 1998 at Logoba Royal Kraal, where he had laid a similar charge against him. According to Dlamini, the matter briefly appeared before the Logoba Royal Kraal Libandla and it was then decided that Nxumalo’s father in-law should be called since he was not present on the day.

“When the matter resumed at a later date at Logoba Royal Kraal, Nxumalo’s father in- law, Mathambo Sihlongonyane, requested that the matter should be transferred to his own chiefdom where he can be in a position to address it with Nxumalo,” alleged Dlamini.
Nxumalo’s father in-law is further alleged to have stated that if he (Nxumalo) wanted his lobola back, he should come to him rather than to lay a charge against another man. The applicant (Dlamini) claimed that the libandla granted the request and the matter was removed from Logoba Royal Kraal.

Affidavit

These are allegations contained in an affidavit whose veracity is still to be tested in court.
Dlamini told the court that on August 16, 2017, the matter appeared at Masundvwini Royal Kraal and the alleged wife of the first respondent (Nxumalo) was present.

“When the charge was read to me, I pleaded not guilty and explained that I did not know that the lady was Nxumalo’s wife as I found her in a rented flat at Mpaka living alone. She was not residing with Nxumalo,” averred Dlamini.

He said he further explained to the council that the lady did not inform him that she was married to Nxumalo.
“The Sihlongonyane members who are the in-laws of Nxumalo told the council that he (Nxumalo) never reported the alleged infidelity of their daughter to them as a family according to Swazi Law and Custom,” submitted the applicant.

He further claimed that the Sihlongonyane family also mentioned that Nxumalo had left their daughter and that she had been residing alone for over a period of four years. According to Dlamini, the council then ordered the Nxumalo and Sihlongonyane families to meet and bring back a report within four weeks. He alleged that a written order to that effect was issued on October 5, 2017, signed by the Chairman of the inner council, Samuel Mduna Phungwayo.

Dlamini averred that he was never told of any developments after the order of October 5, 2017 was issued until the month of November 2017, when he received summons to appear before Ndabazabantu in Manzini concerning the matter. The applicant alleged that he decided to honour the summons and appear before the late Khopho Dlamini who was the Ndabazabantu in Manzini.

Argument

He alleged that after a lengthy argument, Khopho dismissed the matter on the basis that it was still pending before the Masundvwini Royal Kraal.
“I again received summons from Ndabazabantu for the Manzini Region to appear before him on July 5, 2018. I immediately engaged the services of my present attorney, who wrote to the office of Ndabazabantu informing them that I wanted to be legally represented in the matter and also informing the office of the order of the Masundvwini Royal Kraal Inner Council,” alleged the applicant.

“I did not hear anything after that nor was I called to any forum about the matter until January 30, 2019 when I read in the front page of the Times of Eswatini that I had been found guilty of sleeping with another man’s wife and fined seven cattle. I must mention that my name was blocked- off but could tell that the article referred to me,” he argued.
Dlamini submitted that he immediately went to the Masundvwini Royal Kraal to ask the inner council about the article and whether they had issued an order in the matter between him and Nxumalo.

Answer

The applicant claimed that he did not get a clear answer except to be informed by members of the inner council that he would be called on another date, something that did not happen to this day.
He recounted that on May 8, 2020, he received summons to appear at the Manzini Swazi Nation Court on May 27, 2020 at 9am concerning the matter between him and Nxumalo.

Dlamini alleged that he was advised by his lawyer that he was given a copy of an alleged order of the inner council dated September 28, 2018.
According to Dlamini, the order stated that members of the inner council comprising the chairman, Phungwayo, Makhundu Mahlalela, David Lukhele, Fanukwete Dlamini, Sipho Magagula, Sandile Shabalala and Samuel Jele, deliberated the matter between him and Nxumalo.

The order, according to the applicant, further stated that the Sihlongonyane family members were present and that Nxumalo had laid a charge that he (applicant) slept with his wife.

“The order further stated that I was found guilty upon my plea and fined seven cattle; one for the inner council, one for the emissary who would effect the order, namely Samuel Jele and the remaining five to be given to Nxumalo.

The order also gave me up until the end of November 2018 to have paid the seven cattle as the matter was finalised in the year 2017,” he averred.