THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA

JUDGMENT
Case No:   426/10

In the matter between:

RUDZANI NETSHITUKA                                                            Appellant

and

JOYCE MUNYADIZWA NETSHITUKA                      First Respondent

MASTER OF THE HIGH COURT                             Second Respondent

ESTATE OF MASEWA JOSEPH NETSHITUKA      Third Respondent

MUTHUFELA NETSHITUKA                                    Fourth Respondent

DIANA NETSHITUKA                                                    Fifth Respondent

MINISTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HOME AFFAIRS                                                              Sixth Respondent

Neutral citation: Netshituka v Netshituka (426/10) [2011] ZASCA 120 (20
July 2011)

Coram:
MPATI P, BOSIELO, TSHIQI, SERITI JJA and PETSE
AJA

Heard:
10 May 2011
Delivered:             20 July 2011

Summary:
Customary Law ─ whether a civil marriage contracted
between a partner to a customary union and another man or woman during
the subsistence of that union is valid. Succession ─ validity of will ─
whether last will and testament of testator valid.

_____________________________________________________________________

ORDER

On appeal from: Limpopo High Court (Thohoyandou) (Hetisani J sitting
as court of first instance.):

1.
The appeal is upheld in part.
2.
That part of the order of the court below dismissing the application
to declare invalid the marriage between the deceased and the first
respondent is set aside and substituted with the following:
„The marriage contracted between the first respondent and the deceased
on 17 January 1997 is declared null and void.‟
3.
The costs order made by the court below is set aside.
4.
The costs of the appeal and the costs of the proceedings in the court
below are to be paid by the third respondent.
5.
The appeal is otherwise dismissed.
___________________________________________________________

JUDGMENT

PETSE AJA (MPATI P, BOSIELO, TSHIQI and SERITI JJA
concurring)

[1] The appellant (as third applicant in the court a quo), together with
two other persons who do not feature in this appeal, instituted
proceedings against the respondents in which they sought, in the main, an
order declaring: (a) the marriage between the first respondent and the late
Mr Masewa Joseph Netshituka, contracted on 17 January 1997, null and
void ab initio, and (b) the last will and testament of the late Masewa

Joseph Netshituka, executed on 20 November 2007, invalid. The late
Masewa Netshituka (the deceased) died on 4 January 2008.

[2] The proceedings were opposed by the first and third respondents
only. The court a quo (Hetisani J) dismissed the application with costs.
This appeal is with its leave. I shall, for the sake of convenience, refer to
the first and third respondents simply as the respondents.

[3] A brief factual background giving rise to the proceedings in the
court a quo is necessary. Tshinakaho Netshituka, who was the first
applicant before the court a quo but has since died, averred in her
founding affidavit that she was married to the deceased by customary
rites on 1 December 1956. This marriage was not registered with the
Department of Home Affairs. I shall, for convenience, refer to her as
„Tshinakaho‟.

[4] According to Tshinakaho the deceased was also married by
customary rites to three other women, namely Masindi, Martha and Diana
Netshituka, whose marriages were likewise not registered. A number of
children were born of these customary marriages, the appellant being one
of them. She was born of the union between the deceased and Masindi.
The first respondent was also married to the deceased by civil rites, the
marriage having been contracted on 17 January 1997.

[5] Following the death of the deceased the appellant and her erstwhile
co-applicants learnt from the first respondent that the deceased had
executed a will and that the first respondent had been appointed executrix
of his estate. Upon obtaining a copy of the will they took a decision, on

legal advice, to contest the validity of both the will and the deceased‟s
marriage to the first respondent.

[6] The validity of the marriage was contested on the grounds that it
fell foul of the provisions of s 22(1) of the Black Administration Act 38
of 1927 (the Act), read with s 1(a) of the Marriage and Matrimonial
Property Law Amendment Act 3 of 1988 regard being had to the fact that
Tshinakaho‟s customary marriage and those of the other three customary
law wives to the deceased, respectively, were recognised in terms of ss
2(1) and (3) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998.
The validity of the will was contested on account of the deceased‟s
chronic state of ill-health and alleged incapacity to manage his own
affairs at the time the will was executed. It was contended that this state
of affairs was borne out by the fact that the deceased had (i) purported to
bequeath property of which he was not the owner; (ii) purported to
dispose of only a half-share of what he believed was his and the first
respondent‟s joint estate; and (iii) the alleged vagueness of some of the
provisions of the will.

The validity of the marriage
[7] The first respondent averred, in her answering affidavit, that she
married the deceased by civil rites on 17 January 1997 in community of
property, at a time when there was no impediment to her contracting a
lawful marriage with him. She responded as follows to the allegation that
Tshinakaho and three other women were married to the deceased by
custom:
„I deny the existence of the customary marriage and more specifically
that it existed at the time when the deceased and I got married. The

deceased was married to Martha Mosele Netshituka (born Lebona) and
got divorced from her on 5 July 1984.‟1
It was accordingly contended, on her behalf, that when she married the
deceased on 17 January 1997 the latter was not a partner „to a valid
existing customary union‟ in that any customary union to which the
deceased may previously have been a partner „was terminated by force of
law in accordance with section 22 of the Act when he married Martha by
civil rites‟. It was submitted further that s22(2) of the Act, which
provided that no person who was a partner in a customary union „shall be
competent to contract a marriage [with another woman] during the
subsistence of that union‟, had no application to the first respondent‟s
marriage to the deceased. This was because whatever customary union
may have subsisted was rendered invalid when the deceased married
Martha Mosele Netshituka (Martha) by civil rites.

[8] For these submissions counsel for the respondents relied on the
decision of this court in Nkambula v Linda2 where it was held that:
„[a] man who is a partner to a customary union and subsequently
contracts a civil marriage with another woman during the subsistence of
the customary union must be regarded by this act as having deserted his
wife, and under these circumstances the woman to the customary union is
justified in leaving her husband without rendering her guardian liable for
a refund of the lobola [dowry].‟3
Earlier in the judgment this court held that the Act „does not contemplate
the existence side by side of a civil marriage and a customary union‟.4

1 A copy of the decree of divorce was annexed to the answering affidavit. It is not clear from the papers
whether Martha Mosele Netshituka is the same person to whom Tshinakaho referred in the founding
affidavit as one of the deceased‟s customary law wives.
2 Nkambula v Linda 1951 (1) SA 377(A).
3 At 384 C-D.
4 At 382 G.

[9] At the time the deceased would have married Martha by civil rites
s 22(1) of the Act read thus:
„No male [African] shall, during the subsistence of any customary union
between him and any woman, contract a marriage with any other woman
unless he has first declared upon oath, before the magistrate or native
commissioner of the district in which he is domiciled, the name of every
such first-mentioned woman; the name of every child of any such
customary union; the nature and amount of the movable property (if any)
allotted by him to each such woman or house under native custom; and
such other information relating to any such union as the said official may
require.‟
The subsection thus permitted a man who was a partner in a customary
union to contract a civil marriage with another woman provided he
complied with its provisions.

[10] A number of academic writers and commentators hold the view
that the effect of Nkambula was that where one partner in a customary
union contracted a civil marriage with someone other than his or her
partner in the union the civil marriage automatically terminated the
customary union.5 In Nkambula the respondent‟s customary law wife,
Lena, left him after he had entered into a civil marriage with another
woman. The respondent claimed that Lena had, by leaving him, dissolved
the customary union, thereby entitling him to a refund of the lobola he
had paid for her. The Commissioner‟s Court upheld his claim and ordered
Lena to return to him, failing which her father (the appellant) was to

5 I P Maithufi „the recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998: A Commentary‟ (2000) 63
THRHR 509; I P Maithufi & G B M Moloi „The Need for the Protection of Rights of Partners to
Invalid Relationships: A Revisit of the “Discarded Spouse” Debate‟ (2005) 38 De Jure 144; R M
Jansen „Multiple marriages, burial rights and the role of lobola at the dissolution of the marriage‟
(2003) 28(1) Journal for Juridical Science RG; A West „Black Marriages‟: The Past and the Present
(2005) 7 South African Deeds Journal 10.

return the lobola as prayed, with costs. On appeal to it the Native Appeal
Court dismissed the appeal and ordered further that upon failure of Lena
to return to her husband within one month „the customary union is
dissolved‟. The President of the appeal court, however, viewing the
matter as one of importance, referred the following question for this
court‟s consideration:
„Whether or not a man who is a partner to a customary union and
subsequently contracts a civil marriage with another woman during the
subsistence of the customary union can be regarded as having deserted
his customary union wife, and whether under these circumstances the
woman to the customary union is justified in leaving her husband without
her guardian becoming liable for a refund of the lobola.‟
The question was answered in the affirmative (see the excerpt from this
court‟s judgment in paragraph 8 above).

[11] It appears to have been common cause before the court below that
in the instant matter the customary law wives of the deceased never left
him after he had married Martha by civil rites, but continued with their
roles as his customary law wives. The question to be answered in these
circumstances is: What was the status of the relationship between the
deceased and his „deserted‟ customary law wives after his civil marriage
to Martha was terminated by divorce?

[12] In customary law, where a husband has deserted his wife his
offence is not irreparable and does not give her the right to refuse to
return to him when he comes to phuthuma6 her. It was held in Bobotyane

6 The husband is obliged to „phuthuma‟ (fetch) his wife who has left him, whether through his fault or
hers, unless he intends to abandon her. (See Bekker Seymour’s Customary Law in Southern Africa 5 ed
(1989) p181–195.)

v Jack 1944 NAC (C & O) 97 that customary law „does not recognise a
dissolution of the union by mere desertion of the wife or husband, by
abandonment, or even by bare repudiation, for these are all eventualities
provided for by the lobola cattle; the husband can always “putuma” his
wife after any length of absence; the wife can always return to her
husband‟s kraal and resume her former status‟.8 But on the authority of
Nkambula a customary law wife who has left her husband as a result of
his having contracted a civil marriage with another woman would be
entitled to refuse to return to him when he goes to phuthuma her. She
would be entitled to assert that he had terminated the union between
them. It seems to me, however, that nothing would prevent her from
returning to him if she was prepared to do so. No fresh lobola
negotiations would have to be undertaken because customary law „does
not recognize a dissolution of the union by mere desertion‟.9 The husband
might be called upon by her guardian to pay a beast or more as a penalty
for his „misdeed‟.10

[13] In the present matter the deceased did not have to phuthuma his
customary law wives because they never left him after he had married
Martha. His continued cohabitation with them after the divorce was clear
evidence of a husband who had reconciled with his „previously deserted‟
wives. And in his last will and testament, the validity of which I shall
consider presently, the deceased refers to Tshinakaho, Diana and the first
respondent as his first, second and third wives respectively. What is

7 Bobotyane v Jack 1944 NAC (C&O) 9.
8 At p11.
9 Bobotyane v Jack, supra.
10 Bekker Seymour’s Customary Law in Southern Africa, fn 6 above, at p191. See also T W Bennett A
Sourcebook of African Customary Law for Southern Africa (1991) 261–262. According to Bennett the
term „phuthuma‟ is used by the Southern Nguni people, but it was not suggested in this court that the
convention is not practiced by the nation/s of which the deceased and his customary law wives were
members.

important, in my view, is the intention of the parties, which can be
inferred from their conduct of simply continuing with their relationships
and roles as partners in customary unions with the deceased after the
divorce. Their conduct clearly indicated that to the extent that the
deceased‟s civil marriage to Martha may have terminated his unions with
his customary law wives, those unions were revived after the divorce.

[14] The next question is whether it was competent for the deceased to
contract a civil marriage with the first respondent during the subsistence
of the customary unions with Tshinakaho and Diana Netshituka. Section
22 of the Act was amended by the Marriage and Matrimonial Property
Law Amendment Act11, which came into operation on 2 December 1988.
After the amendment subsections (1) and (2) provided:
„(1)
A man and a woman between whom a customary union subsists are competent
to contract a marriage with each other if the man is not also a partner in a subsisting
customary union with another woman.
(2)
Subject to subsection (1), no person who is a partner in a customary union
shall be competent to contract a marriage during the subsistence of that union.‟
Subsection (3) barred a marriage officer from solemnizing the marriage
of an African „unless he has first taken from him a declaration to the
effect that he is not a partner in a customary union with any woman other
than the one he intends marrying‟. And in terms of the amended
subsection (5) a man who made a false declaration with regard to the
existence or otherwise of a customary union between him and any woman
made himself guilty of an offence. A marriage officer could thus not
solemnize a marriage where a man intended to marry a woman other than
the one with whom he was a partner in an existing customary union. That,

11 3 of 1988.

in my view, was the clear intention of the Legislature when it amended s
22 of the Act.

[15] Subsections (1) to (5) of s 22 of the Act, as amended, were in force
as at the date on which the civil marriage between the deceased and the
first respondent was contracted. (The subsections were repealed by the
Recognition of Customary Marriages Act,12 which came into operation on
15 November 2000). In Thembisile v Thembisile13 Bertelsmann J held
that a civil marriage contracted while the man was a partner in an existing
customary union with another woman was a nullity.14 It was not argued in
this court that Thembisile was wrongly decided. It follows that the civil
marriage between the deceased and the first respondent, having been
contracted while the deceased was a partner in existing customary unions
with Tshinakaho and Diana, was a nullity.

The validity of the will
[16] I turn now to the question whether the appellant and her erstwhile
co-applicants discharged the onus that rested on them to establish on a
balance of probabilities that the deceased was not in a sound mental state
when he attested to his last will and testament on 20 November 2007. In
support of the contention that the deceased was not in a sound mental
state, Tshinakaho attached to her founding affidavit a copy of a medical
report from Dr Chitate, a specialist physician attached to the Limpopo
Mediclinic, and a memorandum from the Siloam Hospital. It is apparent
from the medical report and memorandum that the deceased was
chronically ill when he underwent treatment at the two institutions. There
is, however, no indication that his mental capacity was in any way

12 120 of 1998.
13 Thembisile & another v Thembisile & another 2002 (2) SA 209(T).
14 Para 32.

impaired. On the contrary, Dr Chitate‟s report states explicitly that
„despite being chronically physically ill‟ the deceased was „mentally
normal and fully conscious, aware of his surroundings‟ and „oriented in
time, place and person‟.

[17] In his report Dr Chitate states, however, that „episodes of
hypoglycaemia had occurred and, if these recurred after discharge, could
have led to a deterioration in [the deceased‟s] mental function‟.
According to the report Dr Chitate examined and treated the deceased
from 12 to 16 November 2007. The memorandum from the Siloam
Hospital covers the period 30 November 2007, the date of his admission,
to 4 January 2008 when he passed away. No mention is made of the
deceased‟s alleged mental incapacity in the memorandum. There is thus
no evidence that when he attested to his last will and testament on 20
November 2007 the deceased was mentally incapacitated. The contention
that he was, therefore, has no basis.

[18] As to the allegation that the deceased purported to bequeath
property of which he was not the owner and that therefore his will was
invalid, counsel for the appellant conceded that even accepting this to be
so it would not render the will invalid. Nor would it necessarily point to
the deceased being mentally incapacitated. The same applies to the
allegation of vagueness in respect of certain of the provisions of the will.
We were in any event not referred to any provision which could be said to
be vague.

[19] There remains the issue of costs. Counsel for the appellant
submitted that if the appeal succeeds the first respondent should pay the
costs. On the other hand counsel for the respondents argued that it would

be fair and equitable that any costs incurred in this matter be paid out of
the deceased estate. I am satisfied that the argument on behalf of the
respondents should prevail, for two principal reasons. First, the appellant
has been partially successful. Second, the respondents were to my mind
neither unreasonable nor frivolous in opposing the relief sought.

[20] The following order is made:
1.
The appeal is upheld in part.
2.
That part of the order of the court below dismissing the application
to declare invalid the marriage between the deceased and the first
respondent is set aside and substituted with the following:
„The marriage contracted between the first respondent and the deceased
on 17 January 1997 is declared null and void.‟
3.
The costs order made by the court below is set aside.
4.
The costs of the appeal and the costs of the proceedings in the court
below are to be paid by the third respondent.
5.
The appeal is otherwise dismissed.

____________________

XM Petse

Acting Judge of Appeal

APPEARANCES

APPELLANT:

PM van Ryneveld
Instructed by
Danie van Ryneveld Attorneys, Thohoyandou
Symington & De Kok, Bloemfontein.

RESPONDENTS:
1, 3, 4 and 5th

GJ Scheepers
Instructed by
Booyens Du Preez & Boshoff  Inc.,
Thohoyandou
Honey Attorneys, Bloemfontein.
THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA

MEDIA SUMMARY OF JUDGMENT DELIVERED IN THE SUPREME
COURT OF APPEAL

FROM
The Registrar, Supreme Court of Appeal

DATE
20 July 2011

STATUS
Immediate

Please note that the media summary is for the benefit of the media and does not form
part of the judgment.

Netshituka v Netshituka
(426/2010) [2011] ZASCA 120 (20 July 2011)

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld an appeal in part against an order of the
Limpopo High Court, Thohoyandou. The appellant, Ms. Rudzani Netshituka, sought
an order declaring (a) the marriage between the first respondent and the late Mr
Masewa Joseph Netshituka (the deceased), null and void ab initio, and (b) the last will
and testament of the deceased, in which he appointed the first respondent as executrix
of his estate, invalid. The high court dismissed the application with costs.

At the time of his death the deceased was married to three different women by
customary rites. He was also married to the first respondent by civil rights which
marriage was contracted on 17 January 1997. Following the death of the deceased,
the appellant and her erstwhile co-applicants, decided to contest the validity of both
the will and the deceased’s marriage to the first respondent.

In resisting the appellant’s application the first respondent contended that the
customary marriages between the deceased and the appellant’s erstwhile co-
applicants were rendered invalid when the deceased married Martha Mosele
Netshituka by civil rights which marriage was subsequently dissolved by divorce on 5
July 1984.

Following such dissolution the deceased ‘resumed’ his customary marriage
relationships with his customary law wives which were subsisting when he married
Martha Mosele Netshituka by civil rights and consequently such unions were revived
after the divorce.

The question before the court was whether the deceased was competent to contract a
civil marriage with the first respondent during the subsistence of the aforesaid
customary unions. The court held that a civil marriage contracted while the man was
a partner in an existing customary union with another woman was a nullity.

Another question before the court was whether the appellant was able to prove on a
balance of probabilities that the deceased was not of a sound mental state when he
attested to his last will and testament. The appellant could not produce any medical

report that supported these allegations. On the contrary, a medical report placed before
the court stated that ‘despite being chronically physically ill’ the deceased was
‘mentally normal and fully conscious, aware of his surroundings’ and ‘oriented in
time, place and person’. Therefore, the court held that there is no evidence that the
deceased was mentally incapacitated when he attested to his last will and testament.

For the reasons stated above the SCA upheld the appeal in part declaring the marriage
between the first respondent and the deceased null and void.