Wives fight over burial

A WOMAN who claimed that she was the first customary wife of a now deceased man failed for the second time in her legal bid to have a say where he should be buried.

Malepono Morwamakoto turned to the High Court sitting in Polokwane for an order forcing the woman who claimed she was the true wife, as well as the funeral parlour involved in burying him in 2021, to exhume the body of the late Frans Mfana Radingwana.

He was buried at the Legolaneng cemetery, but Morwamakoto wanted him to be reburied at the local Ga-Mampuru cemetery in the Sekhukhune District.

She told the court she was bringing the application on behalf of herself and with the blessing of her late husband’s children.

Following the death of the man in January 2021, he was buried by Martha Radingwana, who claimed to be the true wife.

Morwamakoto denies Radingwana was lawfully married to the deceased, while Radingwana in turn denies the applicant was legally married to him.

To make matters even more complicated, it was alleged that the deceased was married to at least four women during his lifetime. The third wife was cited as a respondent in this application, but she had nothing to do with the burial.

The fourth wife did not take part in the proceedings.

Morwamakoto, meanwhile, said as head and first wife, she was entitled to choose where the deceased should be buried. At the time of his death, she turned to the court for an urgent application to interdict Radingwana and the funeral parlour which handled the funeral from burying him.

That application was, however, not successful.

She told the court that as first customary wife, she was the true widow of the deceased. They were married by customary union in March 1972 and never separated.

Morwamakoto also submitted a letter written by the tribal council to the court as “proof” of her alleged marriage. However, when it came to the burial, she was not consulted and did not attend the funeral.

Acting Judge RP Mdhuli said Morwamakoto failed to prove she was married to the deceased in terms of customary law. Thus, she did not have the legal standing to ask for his body to be exhumed.

While she did present a letter from the tribal authority to the effect that they were married, this was her only proof. She did not call any family members to testify about the alleged marriage, nor did she ask the court to rule that this marriage was valid.

The judge said while the failure to register a customary marriage did not affect the validity of that marriage, there should have been evidence before him, apart from the letter by the tribal authority, that there was actually a marriage.

He pointed out Morwamakoto also never bothered to register her marriage before or after the death of the deceased, which is an option or service available to her if she wanted to persist with her claim of being the first wife.

“This would have assisted her cause of action greatly,” the judge said.

He agreed with her counsel that customary practices evolve and develop to meet the changing needs, especially as she claimed she married the deceased 50 years ago.

The judge said in this case, there was no evidence from any family members in this regard.

Judge Mdhuli said the conduct of the applicants herein was disturbing, given the nature of the relief sought (exhuming of the body).