Homophobic Chief’s wife wants divorce and second marriage annulled

Chief Patekile Holomisa’s wife of almost two decades has filed for divorce and asked the court to declare his new marriage null and void. Holomisa is the face of tradition as the president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of SA (Contralesa), and is an ANC MP.

Holomisa made headlines last year when he stated in a parliamentary committee that "the ANC knows that the ‘great majority' of South Africans do not want to promote or protect the rights of gays and lesbians." The ANC was quick to distance itself from the comments, but failed to discipline Holomisa for making them. 

It seems that once again the Chief’s traditional beliefs are at odds with the law of the land.

Holomisa and his wife, Bukelwa, were married in 1995 under the Marriage Act 25 of 1961. His wife is asking for a divorce as he has taken a second wife and according to the law, “no spouse of a marriage entered into under the Marriage Act, 1961, is, during the subsistence of such marriage, competent to enter into any other marriage”.

Though Bukelwa Holomisa concedes that polygamy is acceptable in African culture, she says because of her civil union Holomisa cannot marry again while still married to her.  “The second marriage can never be regarded as valid. This is because civil marriage and a customary marriage [can’t] co-exist contemporaneously between one spouse and his/her two different spouses,” she said in papers.

Bukelwa wants the court to grant a maintenance order “commensurate to the lifestyle I have enjoyed while married to him having forsaken my future to raise our family and care for the matrimonial home, allowing him to further his career to the extent he has”. 

It seems that the Chief needs to learn differentiate between the law and his patriarchal and homophobic traditional beliefs.