IF IT was not for his 4-5, Cosy Ngcebetsha (35) could have been married to an old man today.
A 71-year-old madala from Mthata, Eastern Cape decided he wanted to marry a younger woman, and when his family objected, he decided to go ahead anyway.
A 23-year-old magosha agreed and a forced marriage, known as ukuthwala, was arranged. The plan was for the girl to wait under a tree on Sunday night for the madala’s friends to pick her up, but the magosha was late. That’s when Cosy Ngcebetsha from Khwenxurha Village arrived.
Cosy was mistaken for the woman because he was wearing a red dress. “I was walking home from my boyfriend’s house when a group of men grabbed me and carried me away,” said Cosy.
He said he was taken to a house and forcefully dressed up like a makoti. Cosy was then introduced to the madala as her new husband. “He couldn’t believe I was a man. I was forced to reveal my 4-5. The madala grabbed a panga and threatened to cut off my 4-5.”
Fortunately, the magosha girlfriend arrived. Cosy said the madala and his family apologised to him and offered him five sheep. He didn’t open a case because of the peace offering and the madala also offered to pay for trauma counselling.
The madala admitted his mistake, but said there is nothing wrong with ukuthwala. “Ukuthwala is customary law and not illegal in South Africa.”
Source: Dailysun
