An attempt by Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu to have the late King Goodwill Zwelithini's customary marriages declared invalid has failed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

Judge Isaac Madondo on Wednesday dismissed a request by Dlamini-Zulu through lawyer Nigel Redman to bring a late application to amend court papers to declare the subsequent marriages between Zwelithini and his customary wives invalid.

"If an application for amendment [is] not made timeously, a valid reason must be given as to why it came so late. There will be prejudice to the respondents, but also all other people that will be affected. As a result, the application to amend is refused."

Madondo said the original application was launched in April 2021. He said in those documents, there was no clarity or issue on their validity.

"The applicant queen in her replying affidavit on 21 July [also] did not address that issue."

He added: "The application for this submission should have been properly brought. No reasons have been advanced why it was not timeously done."

Dlamini-Zulu is seeking 50% of the late Zwelithini's estate.

This was the second legal blow for Dlamini-Zulu, whose application to have Madondo recuse himself and declare a conflict of interest was dismissed on Tuesday.

It was revealed that Madondo was the presiding officer in Zwelithini's marriage to Queen Zola Mafu. In his dismissal of the recusal, Madondo said that because, at the time, Dlamini-Zulu had not challenged the validity of the marriages, it therefore was not relevant.

Asking the court to grant and order

Following the ruling, Redman shifted tactics and asked the court to grant an order that the only legal marriage Zwelithini had was with Dlamini-Zulu. He said that common law precluded any subsequent marriage.

"One cannot have dual civil and customary marriage. A civil marriage is a monogamous union, and a customary and civil union cannot exist at the same time, just like how two civil marriages cannot exist at the same time."

He said that Dlamini-Zulu and her legal team conceded that "civil marriage was a valid marriage".

"If the court does not make it declarative, they [Prince Misuzulu and others] will attempt to argue it in other courts. The executor and master of the estate should make a decision for the validity of marriages."

Responding, Griffiths Madonsela for Misuzulu said the court did not have to declare or make any declarative orders "because to do so will amount to a legal opinion which is unnecessary".

"Even if the court was inclined to consider and entertain an application – it should not because it has no merit. When a court is called on to make a declarative order, it is to state what the law is, and cases which have been such, suggest that a court will not readily give a legal opinion to the parties because they can get theirs from their lawyers."

The matter continues.