Civil Marriage post Customary Marriage is Void

There is no doubt in my mind that the first applicant is the surviving spouse of the deceased and therefore the customary marriage entered into between the first applicant and the deceased on 29 September 1991 is valid. This despite the fact that it was not registered as section 4(9) of the Act clearly states that failure to register a customary marriage will not affect the validity of the customary marriage. In light of this finding, the civil marriage between the first respondent and the deceased is invalid in terms of section 3(2) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act as it is clear that the deceased was not competent to enter into the civil union with the first respondent under the Marriages Act on 8 February 2007 and therefore the civil marriage is null and void.