This was the contention of the woman who had been taken to court by her former husband, who is now demanding his lobola cattle back after discovering that she allegedly lied that she was a virgin. Swazrtz Manyeva Dlamini, who is a teacher, is demanding 24 cattle from his former wife Ruth Thembisile Sibiya’s family.
Sibiya also denied that she made a verbal warranty that she was a virgin. “Prior to our meeting, the plaintiff (Dlamini) fathered two children and as such was also not a virgin,” contended Sibiya. She further averred that it was not true that Dlamini did not know that she had slept with another man or that she was already three months pregnant on their wedding day.
She also denied that the cattle that were paid by Dlamini were nine in number and that they were payment for her purity and virginity. Dlamini had claimed that he paid nine cattle and he is now demanding 24 cattle, being the progeny of the nine cows.
Giving a background of the matter, Sibiya stated that when the relationship between her and Dlamini started, she was a minor and his pupil at Ndzingeni High School.
She claimed that although she later changed schools, Dlamini persistently asked her to marry him to an extent that he involved her father. “After I completed school in 1995, Dlamini, who was far older than me, insisted that we get married but I refused to marry him since I wanted to pursue my studies,” submitted the defendant (Sibiya).
She continued to mention that at the beginning of 1998, she fell in love with one of his peers, Themba Thwala, and since she was at the university, it was difficult for her parents to know about this. Sibiya alleged that it was difficult to tell Dlamini that she had changed her heart about him.