Couple discovers 50-year marriage not recognised by state

A Grootfontein couple who believed they had been married for 50 years were forced to remarry in January after discovering that the Namibian government has no official record of their marriage.

Johan (70) and Magda (67) Spannenberg learned – purely by chance during a visit to the home affairs ministry – that official records listed both of them as single.

The couple were in fact formally married on 15 January 1976 at the Eros Church in Windhoek, as reflected on their marriage certificate. However, the marriage was never registered with Namibia’s ministry.

“There were no records,” Johan said, explaining that their marriage certificate had been inserted into their South African identity books at the time.

No ordinary anniversary

In order to legitimise their marital status, the Spannenbergs remarried on their original wedding date of 15 January this year. The ceremony took place at the Dutch Reformed Church in Grootfontein and was officiated by Rev Dirk de Vos.

And yes, Johan added with a smile, there were guests and presents.

A legal practitioner, who asked not to be named, warned that unregistered marriages can have serious legal consequences and are often only discovered after the death of a spouse.

“They are not legally married,” the source cautioned. “Even if there was a wedding ceremony and the couple lived together for years, presented themselves as husband and wife, and were regarded as married by the community.”

According to the practitioner, if a marriage was never registered with home affairs, there is “no valid civil marriage in law”.

This means there are no automatic spousal rights, including rights to inheritance, pension benefits, medical aid, death benefits or spousal maintenance. In addition, unless proven otherwise, there is no community of property, and the couple may be regarded in law as unmarried life partners.

Property and assets are often where the most serious disputes arise, the practitioner warned.

“Property is not automatically shared,” the source emphasised.

Bungled paperwork

Human rights lawyer Norman Tjombe, however, offered a different legal view, arguing that the validity of a marriage is determined by the marriage officer who solemnised it, not by the administrative process that follows.

“It is like not having a birth certificate – just because you don’t have one does not mean you were never born,” Tjombe said.

He added that citizenship and other rights arising from long-standing marriages should remain valid.

“A marriage cannot simply be rendered invalid because home affairs failed to register it,” Tjombe said.

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