Courts

MBABANE – Judge Sabelo Masuku has ordered the deletion of a marriage certificate of former Minister Hlobsile Ndlovu’s brother and sister-in-law after it was found to have been tampered with.

In this matter, Charmaine Nomvula Ndlovu, acting in her capacity as the executrix of the estate of her late father, Fitkin Mduna Ndlovu, who was Hlobsile’s brother, had dragged the director of Registration of Vital Statistics to the High Court. This was after it had been discovered that an official marriage register was altered using correction fluid to change the documented property regime of the deceased’s marriage to Charmaine’s stepmother.

She was seeking an order to direct and compel the director to delete and cancel marriage certificate number 374232, which was issued in respect of a marriage between her father, the late Fitkin Mduna Ndlovu and the late Busiswa Magagula. The applicant contended that the marriage certificate was improperly obtained or issued.

The first respondent was the director of Registration of Vital Statistics, cited in his capacity as the officer responsible for registering the vital statistics of emaSwati. The second respondent was the principal secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, who oversees the department where marriages are registered. The master of the High Court was also cited as a respondent.

The executrix of the estate of the late Hlobsile, her sister Khetsiwe, was the fifth respondent.

In her founding affidavit, Charmaine stated that she was appointed as the executrix of her late biological father’s estate, following his death on May 28, 2024, in Pigg’s Peak. According to her testimony, her father communicated on two separate occasions, both before and after his marriage in 2023, that he intended to marry Magagula under civil rites, but that the proprietary consequences would be explicitly regulated under Eswatini Law and Custom, making it out of community of property.

The applicant noted that she did not attend the wedding, but her father’s siblings did. Following her father’s passing, she said she was advised by the Assistant Master of the High Court, Joy Maphanga, to prepare a Liquidation and Distribution Account based on the issued marriage certificate, which depicted the marriage as being under Common Law and in community of property. The account was subsequently approved by the deputy master of the High Court on February 9, 2026.

However, when the account was advertised, according to Charmaine, the siblings of the deceased lodged formal objections. She submitted that they asserted that they had witnessed the marriage and that it was agreed the union would be out of community of property. Acting on advice from the Master’s Office, Charmaine visited the Mbabane offices of the director of registration of vital statistics to inspect the original marriage register.

Upon reviewing the records, the applicant discovered that correction fluid, commonly known as tippex, had been used to erase the original entries stating that the marriage would be regulated under Eswatini Law and Custom and out of community of property.

She averred that new words had been written over the erased portion, altering the regime to ‘in community of property and to be regulated under Common Law’.  She submitted that officials at the Mbabane office informed her that the alteration of government records was wrong and that a court order should have been obtained before making changes.

The applicant said she subsequently met with the Director of Registration of Vital Statistics, Sidumo Malindzisa, on April 29, 2026. Malindzisa allegedly confirmed that his office had alerted him to the improper issuance and that the register had been tampered with.

He is said to have advised the applicant to approach the High Court for an order to cancel the certificate, stating that his office would abide by the court’s decision.

The claims were supported by a confirmatory affidavit from her aunt, Hlobsile, the biological sister of the deceased. She stated that she attended the marriage ceremony on May 19, 2023, in Pigg’s Peak and personally saw the register before it was altered.

She affirmed that the family and the deceased had agreed the marriage would be out of community of property to adhere to their late father’s will regarding family properties, particularly since the deceased was already sickly at the time. Charmaine was represented by attorneys from Robinson Bertram.

Former Minister Hlobsile Ndlovu filed a confirmatory affidavit stating that she personally saw the register before it was altered. (File pic)