The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled against Nthuseni Christinah Manwadu, a woman who sought official recognition as the legal wife of the late Livhuwani Robert Manwadu after two decades of marriage. This decision came after a long legal battle, following Robert’s death in February 2017. The dispute arose when both Christinah and Robert’s first wife, Matodzi Joyce Manwadu, claimed their right to inherit from his estate.
Joyce had initially sought relief from the Limpopo High Court, asking for an order declaring her customary marriage to Robert as valid. As evidence, she presented an uncertified copy of her ID along with an endorsement confirming her marriage date. Joyce argued that her ID, which reflected her married surname, was prima facie proof of her marriage to Robert. However, the high court dismissed her application, stating she had not sufficiently proven the existence of a customary marriage. The court acknowledged that Robert and Christinah had been legally married under civil law and had executed a joint will together.
Unhappy with the ruling, Joyce appealed, and the court reversed the previous decision, declaring Christinah’s marriage to Robert null and void. Undeterred, Christinah took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal, where the case took another turn.
In the SCA, Joyce presented a long history with the deceased, recounting her meeting Robert in 1978, when she was still in high school. She became pregnant soon after, and Robert acknowledged paternity, even agreeing to marry her. The deceased’s family negotiated a lobola amount of R600, which was paid to Joyce’s father. Over the years, Joyce had three children with Robert, though the deceased later denied paternity of two of them after paternity tests confirmed he was not their biological father. Despite this, Joyce maintained under oath that Robert was their father.
Joyce also presented an uncertified ‘next of kin’ affidavit to support her claim that her third child belonged to Robert, although she was unable to authenticate the document or explain how she had obtained it. The court was skeptical of this evidence. She mentioned that the couple had lived together in a house in Thohoyandou, but the property was registered in Robert’s name, and she didn’t contribute financially. After discovering Robert’s affair with Christinah in 1996, Joyce left their home and moved back to her parental house.
In her defense, Christinah argued that she had been married to Robert for at least 20 years and had four children together. She contended that Joyce had never challenged their marriage during Robert’s lifetime and only did so after his death. Christinah presented a certified copy of their marriage certificate and maintained that Joyce’s claims of marriage were unfounded.
The case ultimately hinged on the validity of Joyce’s ID document, which clearly stated the couple’s marriage date of March 13, 1979. SCA Judge Tati Makgoka ruled that while Christinah had a certified marriage certificate, she failed to challenge the authenticity of Joyce’s ID document. Judge Makgoka agreed with the high court’s assessment that the ID was valid evidence of the marriage’s existence. The judge further emphasized that an objective person would interpret the ID as proof that Joyce and Robert had indeed been married on the specified date.
In the end, the appeal was dismissed, and Joyce was officially recognized as Robert’s legal wife, with the SCA ruling in her favor. The long-standing legal battle, fueled by competing claims of love and marriage, concluded with Joyce being legally acknowledged as the wife entitled to Robert’s estate.
