The ban on matrimony was announced in the state run Herald newspaper last Wednesday, with Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede stating that his office is trying to stop ‘marriages of convenience’.
Mudede has reportedly said that weddings will only be held when a new ‘biometric marriage certificate’ has been introduced in the country.
“We are the first in the world to fight marriages of convenience,” Mudede is quoted as saying, detailing that the government is trying to clamp down on people using marriage to get Zim citizenship.
He also threatened anyone who goes ahead and performs a wedding ceremony, saying: “Marriage officers will have to comply with this and if you don’t, jail is waiting for you.”
The ban has not yet been given a time limit, leaving scores of weddings unable to go ahead.
Already this weekend there were reports of wedding party’s being turned away from registry offices across the country, with some reports stating about 20 planned marriages at one magistrate’s court had to be cancelled.
– SW Radio Africa News
Post published in: News