{UAH} CAN A KWANJULA BECOME A CHURCH MARRIAGE?

CAN A KWANJULA BECOME A CHURCH MARRIAGE?

Nam started dating K, and soon enough they got married in church and started living together, but because of ABCD, they separated. And  Mr. K immediately started trying to get a divorce. But before the divorce was over, Nam met Seb. They organised an introduction, and then while at the intro, Nam went inside the house and changed into a wedding gown and pronounced that the intro had become a wedding now. She told everyone "byombi mbimaze leero" meaning "I'm done with both today." However, because of ABCD (again) Seb went to court to ask for divorce. This got us thinking many things on behalf of Seb. Was there really a wedding? i.e does an intro amount to a wedding? Does wearing a wedding dress make a function a wedding? If not, what amounts to a wedding? Can a person get married before a divorce is complete? Can a man marry more than one wife in church?

CAN AN "INTRO" AMOUNT TO A WEDDING?

Many times, we use the words wedding and marriage interchangeably. However, these two are very different. A marriage is the relationship two people enter and it must fulfil some ceremonies as given by the law. On the other hand, a wedding is the ceremony where we celebrate two people getting married. For example, in a church marriage, the wedding is conducted when the reverend/priest or religious leader joins the couple as husband and wife. So, if you go to church, then you have gone for the wedding ceremony. It is this wedding ceremony that allows 2 people to enter the church marriage relationship.

DOES WEARING A WEDDING DRESS MAKE A FUNCTION A WEDDING?

Since we know that the wedding can only be said to take place if you fulfil what that marriage requires, wearing a wedding dress like Nam did, does not mean you have now become married in church or entered a different kind of marriage.

Remember that a kwanjula is a form of marriage. which is called a customary marriage and it is potentially polygamous (meaning that the husband can marry more than one wife). In this marriage, the ceremony does not need you to wear a wedding gown, so even if you do not wear one you are customarily married. If you wear the gown, it will make no difference and it will not change your marriage from being polygamous to being a monogamous marriage (like the church marriage).

A wedding (like we know it), must be in an authorized place with the authorized officer of the church, mosque or the law and within the accepted time. So if you fulfil all these requirements, then congratulations!!! you have had a wedding and you have officially become a married person.

CAN A PERSON GET MARRIED BEFORE A DIVORCE IS COMPLETE?

Yes, a person (a man) can get married to another woman before getting a divorce if he entered in a polygamous marriage (one man two or more women).

However, if the marriage the person entered was a monogamous one (one man one woman), then if he/she tried to start another marriage without ending the first one (by the way this is called divorce), then the new marriage would be illegal and not recognized by law. No one can marry more than one wife/husband in a church marriage because it is a monogamous marriage.

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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