The creator of the Lobola Agreement for Marriage document, a standardised legal contract to conduct lobola negotiations, hopes to bounce back following a dry spell that hit him in 2020 when gatherings such as weddings were stopped due to Covid-19.
Jabulani Mahlangu, 52, made headlines in 2019 for creating the legal document, which allows for negotiators to record key points discussed and agreed on during the negotiation in the form. He was able to successfully get the form distributed to stores such as CNA and Shoprite.
He said many people have continued to buy it to make their lobola processes easier. “Some people are now seeing the value in it and that a record is important for court if any issues come up about the marriage,” he said.
The idea came about after he was involved in a number of customary marriages and realised there was a gap in the market for such a document.
In the document, there are spaces to fill – the full names and ID numbers of the bride and groom and those representing each side, their contact numbers, address and signatures.
“It's important to make sure this information [signatures and ID numbers] is there because often when marriages go sour, some people can say they were not involved in the drafting of the contract,” said Mahlangu.
He said it was even part of a SA reality show where two celebrities got married and used the form as part of the process. “Even in my own family it is now standardised as part of our lobola system,” said Mahlangu.
The entrepreneur said although he had a good year when the product was launched, it hit a speed bump when the economically crippling lockdown was implemented.
“Marriages stopped in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and we had to stop selling in one of the stores but we hope to renegotiate that contract again now that marriages have picked up again,” said Mahlangu.
He said he wants to continue marketing the Lobola Agreement for Marriage form to communities that could benefit from it.
“There are still a lot of people who are key in the agreements such as aunties and uncles who do not know about it. So, I want to go to these communities to let them know about it,” said Mahlangu.
“I want this to become part of SA culture, that everyone knows that when you get married through customary marriage this is part of the process,” he said.
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