Polygamy is legal under certain circumstances in South Africa. All polygamous marriages entered into in accordance with the provisions of the

Recognition of Customary Marriages Act The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998) is a South African statute in terms of which marriages performed under African customary law, including polygynous marriages, are recognised as legal marriages. It also refo ...

are legal. The husband in an existing customary marriage wishing to marry a second wife must apply to a competent court for such a marriage to be legal. Hence former President Jacob Zuma currently has four legally-recognised wives. The court considers the interests of all parties to the marriage and may add whatever conditions the court deems just for the polygamous marriage to be valid under customary law. Polygamous marriages are not allowed under the Marriage Act and the Civil Unions Act. A person married under the Civil Union Act which allows same-sex couples to marry, may not enter into marriage with a second partner until the existing marriage is dissolved. Therefore only men are allowed to marry more than one spouse ''of the opposite sex'' at the same time. South African traditionalists have been well known to practice polygamy and the topic has been a serious political issue in the past several years, especially in the 2009 elections. Many of the indigenous

Bantu peoples The Bantu peoples, or Bantu, are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. They are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Souther ...

, both Christians and Indigenous, are polygamous.

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

South Africans such as are found among the

Cape Malays Cape Malays (, in Arabies script) also known as Cape Muslims or Malays, are a Muslim community or ethnic group in South Africa. They are the descendants of enslaved and free Muslims from different parts of the world who lived at the Cape duri ...

Cape Coloureds Cape Coloureds () are a South African ethnic group consisted primarily of persons of mixed race and Khoisan descent. Although Coloureds form a minority group within South Africa, they are the predominant population group in the Western Cape. ...

, and

Indian South Africans Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the ...

also allow for polygamy.

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, the former president of South Africa, is a self-proclaimed polygamist. He has been married five times, and is currently married to four different women. He has reportedly fathered 20 children among his wives and mistresses.South Africa spends $2 million on Zuma's wives & children
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References

{{Polygamous marriage

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

South African culture Marriage, unions and partnerships in South Africa