‘First Wife Takes the Lead’: Court Rules on Burial Rights After Two Women Claim to Be Married to Same Man

The Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela has ruled in favour of a woman claiming to be the first customary wife of a deceased man, granting her the right to bury him following a heated dispute with another woman who also alleged to be his spouse.

The Dispute

The urgent application centred on the burial of Zwide Greaten Nxumalo, who died on 9 March 2026 after being shot.

Two womenNkateko Cleopatran Khoza (applicant) and Rikhotso Masana (first respondent)both insisted they were legally married to the deceased under customary law and therefore entitled to burial rights.

The dispute arose after Masana took control of funeral arrangements and scheduled the burial for 15 March 2026. Khoza approached the court urgently to halt the funeral pending a determination of who held the lawful right to bury Nxumalo.

An interim order was granted on 12 March 2026, postponing the funeral.

The Arguments

Khoza argued she entered into a valid customary marriage in 2010 following lobola negotiations. They have two children together.

She explained that during 2023, the deceased insisted she resign from her employment in Lydenburg and move back home. When she refused, he moved another woman into their shared residence.

Despite strains, the deceased continued to visit her, and at some point the children lived with him. She denied that the deceased was ever married to Masana.

Masana contended she married Nxumalo in 2021 in accordance with customary law and lived with him continuously until his death. She maintained she was closest to the deceased in his final years and therefore best placed to oversee his burial.

Khoza disputed Masana’s timeline, saying it was impossible because she lived with the father of her children until 2023 when she relocated to Lydenburg due to employment obligations.

The Complications

The court faced conflicting versions, including:

• Competing lobola letters

• Divided support from the deceased’s own parents: his mother backed Masana, his father supported Khoza

The Ruling

Judge P.D. Kekana emphasised that burial disputes require swift and practical resolution, focusing on fairness rather than conclusively determining marital status.

The court found it could not definitively establish the validity of either alleged customary marriage on the papers before it.

Instead, the judge considered:

• Proximity to the deceased

• Duration of cohabitation

• The state of relationships

• Cultural considerations

While Masana had been living with Nxumalo at the time of his death, the court placed significant weight on Khoza’s earlier lobola negotiations and her status as the apparent first wife.

“Generally, the first wife holds the highest status, often acting as mentor to junior wives… The applicant, due to the fact that her lobola negotiations predates the lobola negotiations of the first respondent should take the lead.”

The Outcome

Khoza was granted burial rights, with the court ordering that the deceased’s body be released to her or at her direction.

Importantly, the judge emphasised that the ruling does not constitute a final determination of the validity of either customary marriageit was made for the purpose of the burial.

No order as to costs was made.

The Bottom Line

Two women. One man. Two claims of marriage. One burial.

The court ruled: the first wife leads.

But the question of who was truly married to Zwide Greaten Nxumalo remains unresolved. That fight is for another day.