Legal expert Advocate Mpumelelo Zikalala said that the chances of king Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s wife of stopping his traditional wedding to his new wife are slim.
On Friday, queen Ntokozo Mayisela-Zulu filed papers in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in a bid to interdict the traditional wedding of her husband, the king, to a new wife Nomzamo Myeni.
In the court papers, the queen argued that if the king continues with the wedding, he would be committing bigamy - marrying someone while still legally married to another person. She asked the court to prevent the king from committing bigamy which she said is punishable by law in South Africa.
Weighing in on the matter, Zikalala said the court can stop the wedding if the defence can prove harm to the applicant, however, the court may have the problem with the the matter of urgency and will ask Mayisela-Zulu when she become aware of the wedding.
“I think what the court will deal with will be the urgency which I do not think exists. This depends on what the defence says with regard to the immediate harm if the wedding goes ahead,” said Zikalala.
However, the queen’s lawyer Melusi Xulu said he is optimistic about his client’s case, saying the law is on her side.
Xulu said the Marriage Act clearly stipulates that a person married in a civil marriage may not get married again either through customary or civil marriage, which is why his client deemed it appropriate to stop the traditional wedding.
In addition, Xulu said even if the king had sought permission from the first wife, the wedding would still not be legal because by law, you cannot convert a civil marriage to a customary marriage although it is possible to change from customary marriage to civil.
“My client is not opposed to a polygamy as she understands the culture that the king may want to take another wife but she felt undermined in that she was not consulted.
“Secondly she was concerned about her rights if her husband takes another wife. Thirdly, her marriage is civil and even if she gave consent, the king would have to go to court and make an application to request permission from a Judge because the law does not allow moving from civil to customary marriage,” said Xulu.
Furthermore, he said by law, the king has only married once and his client does not understand why the media and public refer to second and third wives.
University of KwaZulu-Natal based cultural expert Professor Sihawu Ngubane said he understands why the queen wants to stop the wedding as traditional marriages are now recognised by the Marriage Act.
Attempts to get comment from the royal family or the king were unsuccessful as the king remains in cultural seclusion.
WP