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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 1983 |
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Under customary law, lack of support is usually compensatory and insufficient alone to dissolve a marriage without strong evidence.
Customary marriage — preservation and reconciliation — high threshold for dissolution; failure to support generally compensatory, not grounds for divorce absent compelling evidence.
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26 May 1983 |
| August 1981 |
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Under customary law, unsupported allegations of neglect and contradictory evidence do not justify dissolving a marriage; compensation may be ordered instead.
Customary marriage – dissolution – high threshold for divorce – requirement to allow advocates to reconcile parties – misconduct often remedied by compensation not dissolution – credibility of evidence on appeal.
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26 August 1981 |
| January 1980 |
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Divorce granted for wilful non-consummation; customary law awards custody and lobola to the innocent spouse, and costs to the petitioner.
Family law – Divorce for wilful refusal to consummate marriage; customary law consequences – forfeiture of lobola and custody awarded to the innocent spouse.
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19 January 1980 |
| August 1979 |
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Under Mzimba customary law, cruelty and constructive desertion by an intended inheritor justify divorce and entitlement to dowry and custody.
Customary marriage — widow (chokolo) rights; inheritance/ levirate; cruelty and constructive desertion as grounds for divorce; entitlement to dowry and child custody where chosen inheritor refuses.
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15 August 1979 |
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Repeated elopement of a married woman creates separate compensatory liability for each occasion; appeal allowed.
Customary law — elopement of married woman — repeated elopement attracts separate compensatory liability; distinction for unmarried woman; judgment in absentia under Traditional Courts Procedure Rules r.38.
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9 August 1979 |
| April 1977 |
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Traditional Court quashes divorce where reconciliation was not attempted, grounds were unproven, and customary link between dowry and custody was ignored.
Traditional Courts — Divorce practice — parties ordinarily sent home to reconcile before dissolution; insufficient evidence — allegations of secret medicine visit and unexplained injury rejected; customary rule — dowry and custody linked and should not be split; quashing of wrongful divorce decree.
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21 April 1977 |