Justice Moses Chinhengo is tired of listening to squabbling polygamous husbands and their many wives, especially those who say they are members of the International Pentecostal Church (IPC). So he has instructed the Attorney General to bring to an end the IPC's polygamous practices in Botswana. The good judge and his peers at the Francistown High Court have lately been inundated with cases of polygamy from the denomination.
Last week, for example, another judge, Terrence Rannowane, annulled the second marriage of a member of the church. because polygamy is not legal in Botswana. In the matter, the respondent, Joseph Bashi Gampone, married Osupile Nancy Potokwane in 2009 while he was still married to Dimakatso Gampone. No, said the judge. A man cannot go and marry another woman while he is still married to another. At least not in this country because that contravenes Section 13 of the Marriage Act. Should a man want another wife, he must first divorce the first one.
