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Harare High Court
Lawrence Muteswa v Oliver Masomera N.O and Apolonia Muteswa and Loyce Muteswa and Master of the High Court
HH 79-17
Case Details
Court
Harare High Court
Date
8 February 2017
Citation
HH 79-17
Neutral Citation
[2017] ZWHH 79
Outcome
unknown
Case Type
Application
Bench
Presiding
FOROMA J
Full Bench
FOROMA J
Areas of Law
Customary LawFamily LawDeclaratory Relief
Keywords
customary marriagemonogamous marriagelobolasurviving spousedeclaratur
Tags
customary marriagedeclaratory ordermarriage validitysuccession rights
legislation
Statutes Cited
- Customary Marriages Act
- High Court Act
ai analysis
Case Summary
Key Issues
- {"issue_text":"Whether customary marriages solemnized after death of first wife are valid despite lobola paid during first marriage","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Lobola paid during monogamous marriage; solemnization after wife's death"}
- {"issue_text":"Whether applicant has locus standi to seek declaratory order","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Applicant is son of deceased; seeking declaratur"}
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background
Facts of the Case
Background
The applicant, son of the late Langton Muteswa, sought a declaratory order that the second and third respondents were not surviving spouses of his father. His father had married his mother by Christian rites in 1959 (monogamous marriage), then paid lobola for and later solemnized customary marriages with the second and third respondents after his mother's death in 1980.
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