Zimbabwe’s Marriages Act: What we need to know

[mkdf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”Black” background_color=””]Z[/mkdf_dropcaps]imbabwe’s Marriages Act of 2022 signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in May has been shadowed by continuing controversy and misinformation from the drafting stages to its gazetting last which further rekindled the maelstrom.

Different sections of society have come forward with mixed views toward the new law. Some view it as a progressive judiciary move. In contrast, some have viewed the law as marking the beginning of society’s moral decay.   

The Marriages Bill was first drafted in 2019 and sent for wider consultative meetings across the country. It was tabled for further debate in parliament and was later signed into law on the 27th of May 2022. The Marriages Act also cited as Chapter 5:15 in the Constitution of Zimbabwe is the new law regulating all marriages in Zimbabwe following its gazetting last week.

Social media has also been alit of commentary of disapproval and contestation this has further been driven by half-informed debates and trivialisation of the matter. Even so, the new law remains to be comprehensively unpacked.  

Age of Marriage

The minimum age of marriage is 18 years for both women and men, as such, it is a crime to marry off a child. Anyone involved in such will be liable to prosecution – a fine and or jail term. If the parents or guardian are involved in such a crime that would be a further aggravating factor.  

 

Consent

There must be free and full consent of both parties wanting to get married.  

 

Nature of Marriages

• Civil marriage is a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman, neither party can enter into another marriage under general law.
• A registered customary marriage is potentially polygamous and is entered into according to customary law.
• A qualified marriage is contracted under religious rites and is not registrable as civil or customary marriage, it is potentially polygamous.
• A registered customary law marriage may be converted to civil marriage.
• Unregistered Customary Law Unions are not recognised marriages. Unions contracted after the new Act must register within 3 months of the date of the union and those entered before the Act must be registered within 12 months. Failure to register does not invalidate the partnership, guardianship, custody and the rights of succession of children in such a marriage.
• Civil Partnerships are not marriages but recognised only for purposes of property sharing. They are a relationship between a man and a woman over the age of 18 years living together on a genuine domestic basis. It can co-exist with any other marriage including a civil marriage.

 

Equal Status of all Marriages

All marriages are equal, there is no marriage superior to the other.

 

Lobola / Roora

The agreement relating to lobola or marriage consideration is necessary for customary law marriages. Customary law formalities are a prerequisite.

 

Equal Rights

Parties to a marriage have equal rights and obligations during the subsistence of the marriage and at its dissolution.

 

Marriage Officers

• Magistrates
• Ministers of Religion
• Chiefs (they solemnise customary marriages)
• Head of Embassies

Divorce Law (Matrimonial Causes Act)

The law on divorce applies to all types of marriages and civil partnerships however it does not apply to unregistered customary law unions.