Tzaneen communities call for tougher laws on cross-border marriages

By Akani Nkuna

Residents in Lenyenye outside Tzaneen in Limpopo’s Mopani District have called for tighter regulation of marriages between South Africans and foreign nationals, alleging that fraudulent unions are increasing and that poverty can make people vulnerable to “bogus marriages”.

The concerns were raised during public hearings on the draft Marriage Bill at the Lenyenye Community Hall this week, where residents proposed clearly defined timelines for marriage verification to give the Department of Home Affairs time to verify documents submitted by foreign nationals and to strengthen vetting processes.

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“Participants told the committee that many South African women succumb to the pressure of poverty and other negative socio-economic realities under which they live and end up in fraudulent marriages, often unaware of the legal implications. They believe that tighter legislative measures would help deal with this trend,”