PHAKAMA’S WIFE WANTS HUBBY’S THREE OTHER MARRIAGES NULLIFIED

MBABANE – The wife of the late businessman Richard Dlamini who owned the Phakama Bus Service fleet is seeking an order declaring Dlamini’s marriage with his other three wives null and void.

Sarah Dlamini has already filed papers at the High Court and is challenging Martha Nokuthula Makhanya, Jenneth Tholakele Sihlongonyane and Cecilia Gcinaphi Makhanya to have their marriage with the late businessman nullified.
In her papers, Sarah seeks to have the registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths directed to cancel all entries in the marriage register in respect of the purported marriages between the deceased and his three other aforesaid wives.
She also seeks to have the Master of the High Court directed to stay the appointment of the executor pending the finalisation of the matter.

Sarah has instructed the office of Hlabangana and Associates in the matter and all the respondents, as put in the court papers, have been served with her application.
The estate of the late businessman mentioned herein is currently under the authority of the Master of the High Court.
“I was married to the late Richard Themba Dlamini in Civil Rites on August 5, 1960 in the Catholic Church in Mbabane. During the subsistence of the marriage, the deceased and I had six children. Besides having six children, we also established businesses namely Phakama Investment (PTY) Ltd and Sigwaca Holdings (PTY)Ltd,” Sarah submitted.

In her papers, she said they also had another company which owned a farm, which company was sold in 2012. She said with the business thriving and their children growing, for some reasons unknown to her, the deceased decided to engage in extramarital affairs. Sarah said she confronted her husband and he then decided to traditionally wed Martha in 1983. She said she confronted the deceased and advised him that the Civil Rites marriage did not allow polygamy and that as they were married in a Catholic Church, divorce is not allowed.

These are allegations contained in court papers whose veracity is yet to be tested in court.
“In the midst of the discussion the deceased acknowledged his mistakes and told me he would desist from ‘legalising his extramarital affairs’ and that I should consider the supposed marriage non-existent in view of the Civil Rights marriage.
“The deceased and I remained married and continued to bring up our children and expand our business. One day after an argument with the deceased over his extramarital affairs, he traditionally wed his girlfriend, one Jenneth Tholakele Sihlongonyane in 1991,” read Sarah’s papers in part.

She further alleged that by this time, with her deceased husband, they argued constantly  over his adulterous relationships. She alleged that it was thus difficult to converse with the deceased.
Sarah said she told her husband that as a Catholic she would not divorce him and that she holds her marriage vows sacred through faith and religion. She further submitted that if divorce was to be entertained, the Catholic elders would have to be engaged.

She alleged that the deceased, in seeing the tedious process involving the church elders, allegedly refused to discuss the issue of divorce and in a bid to avoid the topic, he moved out of their marital home.
“To add salt to injury, the deceased then traditionally wed Cecilia Gcinaphi Makhanya in 2000, whom I brought up and lived with at Lobamba Lomdzala.
 I submit that despite the deceas

ed’s unbecoming behaviour of legalising his extramarital affairs with his girlfriends to that of ‘supposed wives’, I never once accepted and or condoned the adulterous relationships and I always confronted the deceased about them.
“He continued to avoid discussing these topics and always avoided the marital home at Lobamba Lomdzala and only came over to discuss the businesses and other family issues,” Sarah submitted in her court papers.
She further alleged that the trend of avoiding discussing his unbecoming behaviour became the order of the day up until he met his death on December 13, 2013.
Sarah said she only learnt that her husband’s three other wives had marriage certificates on April 15, 2014, at a next of kin meeting held at the Master of the High Court offices in Manzini.
Sarah said what further surprised her was that on the issuance of Makhanya’s marriage certificate, the groom’s particulars clearly stated that he was married.
Sarah further submitted that she knows for a fact that when the deceased’s identity number is punched in the database, it reflects him as being married.

She further submitted before court matters that arose during the said next of kin meeting held on April 15 that the respondents’ representative, a certain Miss Magagula, pointed out during the meeting that there existed a conflict of marriages that is, Civil Rites and Swazi Law and Custom marriages and that because of the conflict, one should approach the court, thus the present application.
“The Master of the High Court stated that in terms of the Administration of Estate Act of 1902 where there was competition for the office of the executor dative, the surviving spouse is chosen, on failing, next of kin and failing a creditor and so on.
 I am advised by my present attorney that this section is in terms of Section 25 of the Act,” submitted Sarah.

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