Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo

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dc.contributor.authorOsman, Fatima
dc.contributor.authorKruger, Sky
dc.contributor.authorBebington, Micaela Lara
dc.contributor.authorUranovsky, Jaime Lilleen
dc.date.accessioned2025-08-28T13:25:31Z
dc.date.available2025-08-28T13:25:31Z
dc.date.issued2025-03-25
dc.description.abstractCourts are regularly tasked with determining the validity of a customary marriage using the requirements stipulated in the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. This entails an assessment of whether certain fundamental rituals and practices occurred. One such ritual that appears frequently in recent jurisprudence is the handing over of the bride to the bridegroom’s family, although courts have differed on whether this is a necessary requirement for a valid customary marriage. In the case of Sengadi v Tsambo, the High Court conceptualised the handing over ritual as an extraneous requirement additional to the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act that could be imposed on an otherwise valid marriage, and ruled it unconstitutional to this extent. This article argues that the High Court's declaration of unconstitutionality, while peculiar for positioning the practice of handing over as extraneous to the statutory provisions, was within its powers, effective without further confirmation, and binding on lower courts within its jurisdiction. Upon appeal, rather than clarifying the matter, the Supreme Court of Appeal did not substantively deal with the High Court’s peculiar conception of handing over and ruled that the High Court should not have pronounced on its constitutionality. In doing so, we argue that the Supreme Court of Appeal may have tacitly overturned the High Court’s declaration of constitutional invalidity.
dc.identifier.apacitationOsman, F., Kruger, S., Bebington, M. L., & Uranovsky, J. L. (2025). Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo. <i>potchefstoom electronic law journal</i>, 1-31. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41644en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationOsman, Fatima, Sky Kruger, Micaela Lara Bebington, and Jaime Lilleen Uranovsky "Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo." <i>potchefstoom electronic law journal</i> (2025): 1-31. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41644en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationOsman, F., Kruger, S., Bebington, M.L. & Uranovsky, J.L. 2025. Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo. <i>potchefstoom electronic law journal.</i>:1-31. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41644en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Osman, Fatima AU - Kruger, Sky AU - Bebington, Micaela Lara AU - Uranovsky, Jaime Lilleen AB - Courts are regularly tasked with determining the validity of a customary marriage using the requirements stipulated in the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. This entails an assessment of whether certain fundamental rituals and practices occurred. One such ritual that appears frequently in recent jurisprudence is the handing over of the bride to the bridegroom’s family, although courts have differed on whether this is a necessary requirement for a valid customary marriage. In the case of Sengadi v Tsambo, the High Court conceptualised the handing over ritual as an extraneous requirement additional to the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act that could be imposed on an otherwise valid marriage, and ruled it unconstitutional to this extent. This article argues that the High Court's declaration of unconstitutionality, while peculiar for positioning the practice of handing over as extraneous to the statutory provisions, was within its powers, effective without further confirmation, and binding on lower courts within its jurisdiction. Upon appeal, rather than clarifying the matter, the Supreme Court of Appeal did not substantively deal with the High Court’s peculiar conception of handing over and ruled that the High Court should not have pronounced on its constitutionality. In doing so, we argue that the Supreme Court of Appeal may have tacitly overturned the High Court’s declaration of constitutional invalidity. DA - 2025-03-25 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - potchefstoom electronic law journal KW - customary law KW - marriage KW - handing over KW - HHP KW - constitutionality LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2025 T1 - Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo TI - Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41644 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/41644
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationOsman F, Kruger S, Bebington ML, Uranovsky JL. Left in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo. potchefstoom electronic law journal. 2025;:1-31. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41644.en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Private Law
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Law
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.sourcepotchefstoom electronic law journal
dc.source.pagination1-31
dc.subjectcustomary law
dc.subjectmarriage
dc.subjecthanding over
dc.subjectHHP
dc.subjectconstitutionality
dc.titleLeft in Limbo The Status of the Handing Over of the Bride in Customary Marriages Post Sengadi v Tsambo
dc.typeJournal Article
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