POLOKWANE – “I have a passion for helping people understand, embrace and use the law as a tool to protect themselves and their loved ones. I want to help people out of ignorance, and I am fulfilled when people understand why they need to take control of their lives and change the narrative for their loved ones,” Keneilwe said.
According to her, there is a general ignorance of the law when it comes to marriage and the effects of death in families. She said people get married without thinking of the legal implications and only realise they should have sought legal advice when they experience problems.
Keneilwe gave Polokwane Observer an example of what she discusses during her webinars: Initially, African people had to get married twice.
Once in terms of custom and then again in terms of civil law to ensure their marriage had legal status. The reason for this is prior to November 15 in 2000, customary marriages were not recognised as legal marriages under South African law.
“It was possible for a man to marry one woman under customary law, desert her and go on to marry another woman under civil law. The civil marriage would then be recognised under our law. With the introduction of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, customary marriages are now recognised as legal marriages and the only way to end them is through divorce,” she said. Despite this, she added, most people still get married twice.
Some might even enter into a customary marriage and then go on to marry other people in accordance with civil law without getting a divorce first.
“In the event of a death, usually the husband’s, the two wives fight over the estate as each claims to be the legal wife and is forced to go to court in order for one of them to be declared the legal wife,” she explained.
Keneilwe added that a lot of people do not have wills and when they die, their families feud over assets and children often suffer as a result, for example: “If you leave a house, children and a wife behind, that house will be inherited by all of them according to a legal formula. If the children are from different mothers or fathers, a disagreement might occur about what to do with the assets that were left behind, whether to keep or to sell it,” Keneilwe explained.
With these webinars, Keneilwe said, the attendees will understand how the law affects them and their loved ones.
“More importantly, they learn the importance of planning their lives and using the law as a tool to protect themselves and build legacies for their loved ones,” she said.
Those who would like to join the webinars can WhatsApp Keneilwe on 076 884 1842.
