COLOURFUL AND FASCINATING: ENGAGING THE THEORETICAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF AFRICAN CUSTOMARY MARRIAGE

Abstract

In African communities and in particular, Nigeria, customary marriage means very much to many Africans. Local and international literature, case law and legislative attention on the legal implications of customary marriage usually focus on the potentially or actual polygamous nature of the marriage and thus, engage issues such as status, domicile of the parties and jurisdiction. This focal point misses a vital concern- the legal theoretical underpinning of customary law marriage and level of coherence with modern legal nuances. This article seeks to address this concern. The recent Ugandan case of Mifumi (U) Ltd. & Others v Att Gen & Kenneth Kakuru draws further attention to the subject and is very useful. The article concludes that the customary marriage can be fitted into modern threads of legal theory and should therefore be contained within it.