“When Form Pretends to Be Substance”: The Ontology of Marriage Validity in Zambian Law

This article interrogates the doctrinal foundations of marriage validity in Zambian law through acritical analysis of leading cases, including Siwo v Siwo (1970), Muyamwa v Muyamwa (1976), andHafiz Ayyub Durga v Najmunnissa Ismail (1992). It argues that Zambian jurisprudence reveals apersistent tension between formal statutory requirements and substantive social realities. While thelaw purports to regulate marriage through procedural compliance, courts have consistentlyprivileged intention, cohabitation, and social legitimacy over strict legality. This article develops atheory of “substantive validation,” demonstrating that Zambian courts implicitly construct marriagevalidity as a socio-legal fact rather than a purely legal status. It further critiques the fragmentationbetween statutory, customary, and constitutional frameworks and proposes a reconceptualisation ofmarriage validity grounded in constitutionalism and legal pluralism.