By Bahle Gama
Fourteen years into marriage, a woman accused of cheating only walked out with Tupperware and electrical appliances after her husband was granted a divorce. Having married under the Swati Law and Custom, the woman’s husband moved a divorce application on grounds of adultery and desertion at the High Court that was granted in his favour resulting in the woman exiting with the mentioned items.
In his application, the husband Gcina Vilakati told the court that he married Sizolwethu Mthembu in 2009 and after the solemnization of their marriage, they lived together as husband and wife. All was well until around 2016 when the couple experienced problems in their marriage.
Vilakati alleged that Mthembu started coming home late and when he asked why such was the case, she would give an unsatisfactory reason which subsequently led to their misunderstanding. He told the court that his wife was in a love relationship with a man identified as Nathi, whom she would call and converse with on WhatsApp in his presence.
“The problem persisted and came to a point where she would sleep out of the matrimonial home without informing me,” Vilakati said. One night, Mthembu reportedly arrived, took some of her belongings left without greeting her husband and went to reside with Nathi. That was the last night he saw her.
One day whilst Vilakati was at work, Mthembu reportedly came to the homestead and took all her remaining belongings and that was the last time he ever heard from her. He said he sought the intervention of their families and various meetings were conducted to resolve their differences which was all in vain.
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On October 10, 2021, their families met and concluded that the marriage should be dissolved. Vilakati’s family went to Umphakatsi to report about the dissolution of the marriage and were issued a letter confirming their report.
According to the letter from Gundvwini Umphakatsi, the talks between the two families began in 2016 and ended in 2021. “It is my statement that my marriage to the first respondent (Mthembu) has since been dissolved by both families,” he said.
Vilakati pleaded that the court order the Registrar of Births, Marriages, and Deaths to expunge in its records the entry of his marriage to Mthembu.
The court granted the application and Mthembu requested that the court order Vilakati to give back her TV, stand, radio, and Tupperware and was granted the same.
