Staff Reporter
THE Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab, has disagreed with members of parliament who have said that the debate on the recently tabled amended Divorce Bill should be put on hold pending clarity on the definition of “spouse” in marriage.
Swapo parliamentarians Veikko Nekundi and Tjekero Tweya said this week that the Divorce Bill should not be entertained pending the definitions of “spouse” and “marriage”.
During a Cabinet Committee briefing session at the Government Information Centre (GIC), Dausab said that the tabling of the amended Divorce Bill was an important step in the right direction. The Justice Minister also announced that the Minister of Home Affairs, Safety and Security, and Immigration Control, Dr. Albert Kawana, is expected to table a new Marriage Law in the next two weeks.
“We remain of the view that the definition of ‘spouse’ was not intended to be in the divorce legislation. The definition of ‘spouse’ and what marriage is has always been part of the marriage legislation. We currently have the Marriage Act of 1961, which is still applicable. The definition provided for in that legislation has not changed. The common law definition of ‘spouse’ and how we understand it in terms of that piece of legislation has not changed. I am aware that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Safety and Security, and Immigration Control, Dr. Albert Kawana, intends to table a Marriage Bill which will very comprehensively address the definitional aspects of marriage but also ‘spouse’ specifically,” Dausab said.
The Justice Minister said that she does not agree that discussions on the Divorce Bill should be delayed as the law-making process in the National Assembly takes a bit of time.
She added that the new Marriage Law will probably be tabled in the next two weeks and that it has been certified by the Attorney General.
“It will go through some proofreading by the legislative drafters and will then go back to the table office. I am confident that over the next two weeks, that particular piece of legislation will be tabled. The two pieces of legislation (the Divorce Bill and the Marriage Bill) will actually be discussed. It would be a good platform to have this conversation between marriage and divorce happen at the same time. I don’t think we should unnecessarily delay the discussions which can already ensue in terms of the Divorce Bill while we await the Marriage Bill to be tabled,” Dausab said.
The Justice Minister, however, said that at the moment, she is unable to offer commentary on the Ekandjo Private Members Bill as they are still at the office of the president and have not been signed by the president.
The Ekandjo Private Members Bills, namely the ‘Marriage Amendment Bill’, seek to limit civil marriages solemnised in Namibia to members of the opposite sex as well as criminalise homosexual marriages while the ‘Definition of Spouses Bill’ declares that no marriage between persons of the same sex shall be recognised in Namibia.
“I am unable to comment on the Ekandjo Bills as those bills are still with the office of the president. But I can certainly say that the Marriage Bill would address the concerns that the honourable members had about these two bills working together,” Dausab said.
