MAN STEALS TWIN BROTHER’S IDENTITY, MARRIES PASTOR

MBABANE – A man, who is a twin, reportedly lured a pastor to marry him using his twin brother’s information.

Emmanuel Ntshalintshali is said to have, among other things, produced academic certificates belonging to his twin brother and also used his brother’s name when introducing himself to the pastor, who is also a Head teacher, Khangezile Bhembe. Emmanual’s twin brother is Elmar Ntshalintshali.  Pertaining to the academic certificates, he claimed to be the holder of a Bachelors Degree holder in PGCE (qualified) teacher. He is said to have concealed that he is a secondary school dropout. In fact, the academic qualifications belonged to his twin brother.

Papers

According to papers filed by Bhembe at the Mbabane Magistrates Court, around May 11, 2023 at the District Commissioner’s Offices (DC) in Manzini, the parties entered into a civil rites marriage in community of property. Bhembe told the court that the said marriage was voidable and liable to be annulled in that the defendant (Emmanuel) deceitfully concealed and misrepresented material facts, which were decisive to and induced the plaintiff (Bhembe) to contract the purported marriage with him and that such misrepresentation was essential to the decision to marry and elements of the marriage.

Bhembe alleged that the defendant (Emmanuel), prior to and during courtship and execution of the marriage contract, fraudulently represented that his name was Elmar Ntshalintshali whereas at all material times he knew that this was the identity of his twin brother and that his real name is Emmanuel. It is alleged that Emmanuel proceeded to use and alter all documents of his twin brother as his, knowing it to be so. She further averred that Emmanuel further misrepresented that he was a Degree holder in PGCE (qualified teacher) and concealed that he is a secondary school dropout.

Bhembe further submitted that Emmanuel, having reportedly stolen the identity of his twin brother, proceeded to alter academic qualifications whereas he knew they belonged to his twin brother Elmar. She added that, owing to such misrepresentation and fraud, Emmanuel was resultantly arrested and dismissed from various places of employment, where he had been employed as a teacher. Bhembe further and crucially averred that before the marriage and during courtship, Emmanuel allegedly misrepresented to her that he was an ordained bishop in line with her expressed preference and compulsory condition to be married to a bishop as she is a pastor herself.   

Representation

Furthermore, she averred that in making such representation, Emmanuel well-knew that he was not a pastor, but a mere man of society. Bhembe further stated that Emmanual purportedly deceitfully concealed the existence and paternity of an additional child to those he disclosed from a previous relationship against her express wish and condition to conclude a marriage with fully disclosed children as a spiritually-centred person. Bhembe asserted that such misrepresentation and fraud or concealment of material facts was essential to her decision to consent to the marriage in that she had expressly disclosed her preferences and condition to contract a marriage to a Christian ordained man.

She also expressed to him that she wished to start a family in consonance with her deep religious conditions as a pastor, anchored and modelled in religious values. According to Bhembe, she had also expressly disclosed to Emmanuel as a condition of the marriage, that she wanted to be married to an academically qualified intellectual - a virtue she intended to preserve and impart to her chosen family, including children to be born and raised in the marriage.

Essentials

She added that the said fraud and misrepresentation allegedly by Emmanuel was material to the essentials of the marriage contract in that he was not the individual purportedly married to her, but used the stolen identity of his twin brother, ‘which false identity he was and is guaranteed to the children of the marriage and general identification of the parties as a family, including a legacy based on falsehood and stolen identity’.  She said such misrepresentation was designedly and deceitfully made by Emmanuel to her as she was ignorant of same to induce her to consent to the marriage, to her detriment and contrary, her clearly articulated condition before the conclusion of the marriage.

She said as a result, she found herself married not only to a non-pastor, but an alleged identity thief and fraudster. Bhembe mentioned that the marriage ought to be annulled for fraud, which vitiated her consent and elected to void same on the basis of all that was stated above and that the marriage could not be sustained as a lawful marriage for such material defect. The parties entered into a deed of settlement to annul the marriage, which was made an order of the court. Bhembe was represented by Mlungisi Khumalo of Khumalo Attorneys.

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