The recently passed New Marriages Act has fundamentally changed the cultural landscape of Zimbabwe by redefining the importance of lobola payment. For males thinking about paying a bride price, the New Marriages Act has changed it from a requirement to follow the law to a moral decision. At an interactive public legal awareness conference in Masvingo Province, this fact came to light.
Deeply ingrained in African tradition, marriage plays a crucial role in society. The director of the Law Development Commission (LDC), Netsai Zvakasikwa, stressed that although the government upholds moral principles and cultural traditions associated with matrimony, the new regulation does not make lobola payment mandatory.
Though some traditional authorities see this change as a possible danger to Zimbabwe’s long-standing marriage norms, worries have been raised.
The source claims that Netsai Zvakasikwa explained the Commission’s position, emphasizing that respect for customs and customary laws is still necessary even though the Act’s provisions indicate that lobola is not mandatory.
Rex Shana, LDC’s deputy chair, emphasized the Act’s requirements, emphasizing the prohibition of marriages between siblings or cousins by birth, promoting a clearer understanding of marital relationships. Additionally, the Act introduces novel obligations, most notably empowering chiefs to officiate customary marriages within their jurisdictions. This initiative aims to reduce the need for villagers to travel to urban areas for marriage solemnization.
On behalf of the Masvingo province Chiefs, Adnos Chikomo emphasized the need for people to work together to preserve customary laws, highlighting the important role that chiefs play in this changing environment.
The Law Development Commission is running legal awareness campaigns across the country regarding the Marriages Act [Chapter 5:17], with the goal of clearing up any misunderstandings or false information that may exist. This comes about in response to the Ministry of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs pointing out that there is a lot of misinformation available about the Act.
