02 May 2022

Re a nyalana, a community mass wedding initiative has helped over 6 000 couples to tie the knot.

Speaking during the mass wedding ceremony in Kotolaname in Kweneng district on Friday, department of social protection deputy director, Ms Mosidi Batsalelwang applauded the 20 couples that tied the knot on the day for having embraced the initiative.

“An event of this magnitude would not have been a success if you had stayed away,” she said adding that their response towards the project indicated that they cherished memories created in their individual relationships.

She further commended the founders of the Re a Nyalana project for promoting social cohesion in communities. She also congratulated the couples for taking a bold step to solemnise their relationships.

The deputy director told couples that marriage although beautiful was not a bed of roses, adding  that a successful marriage required one  to fall in love many times with the same person.

“If the husband is the head of the family, the wife must be the heart of the family,” she said urging the newlyweds to continue working together not only for their own good but for the betterment of the nation.

Kgosi Tsogolame Motanka applauded the initiative, saying the project had come in handy and would go a long way to dispel a lot of conflicts over inheritance. 

He also said formalising relationships made jobs easier for dikgosi because more often than not, they were burdened with a lot of cases in which couples contested inheritance especially in instances where children born out of informal relationships were involved.

The founder of Re a Nyalana, Ms Motshidisi Morwaagole said in Kotolaname they managed to wed only 20 couples although initially they had planned to wed a total of 65 couples. 

She said 45 couples turned down the offer because of the stigma attached to the programme.

She said there were people who discouraged others to utilise the programme referring to it as ‘Manyalo a Ipelegeng,’ signifying that they were cheap weddings. 

She therefore urged people to desist from discouraging others to formalise their relationships.

Councillor Onneetse Motanka dismissed the naysayers, saying Re a Nyalana weddings were no different to any other marriage as they were genuine and recognised by the laws of this country.

She explained that couples who wedded on the day also concluded other traditional wedding procedures such as patlo and magadi while the remaining few would also conclude those processes.  This, she was to show that the mass weddings were  like any other wedding and people should not shy away from joining the programme.

One of those who tied the knot on the day, Ms Mmamonokwane Selaledi said she was thankful for Re a nyalana project for helping her formalise her relationship with his long time sweetheart. 

She said they had been together for many years therefore it was important for them to finally legalise their union. ENDS