You just cannot marry no matter how much your love is, that is the message one can read from the decision made by the Nsanje Magistrates Court that has annulled the marriage of a seventeen year old boy to his thirteen year old sweetheart.
First Grade Magistrate Anderson Masanjala made the revelation that he had to annul the marriage as it is against the law. He further revealed that the marriage was conducted without the consent of the bride’s mother as the girl run away from home to elope with her sweetheart at his parents’ home.
Nsanje district is hardly hit by the scourge of early marriages such that it has been reported that in the district there are rampant cases of children in their early teen years who are pregnant for their fellow teens. Oftentimes, sadly, such marriages are done with the consent of parents and the community.