'Bigamist' says he didn't think second wedding counted as it was in another language | SUZX071 | 2024-02-20 11:08:01
A British Army sergeant has been accused of bigamy after he married a second wife however claimed it didn't rely because the ceremony was carried out in Swahali.
Noa Dravikula, 42, separated from his first spouse but was not formally divorced when he tied the knot with a second lady in a Sharia Regulation ceremony, a courtroom martial heard in the present day.
He was deployed to Kenya when he 'began a relationship' with Kenyan lady Kuki Wason.
Prosecutors say in October 2021, the couple loved an Islamic wedding ceremony, referred to as a nikah, which meant he was committing bigamy.
British regulation states couples can marry if they're each aged 18 or over and are free to marry, in the event that they're single, widowed or divorced, or in the event that they have been in a civil partnership which has been dissolved.
The wedding got here to the attention of the Army when Noa expressed a 'wish' to deliver Kuki again to the UK with him.
He married his first wife in June 2011 in a Methodist church in Fiji, in accordance with Prosecutor Flight Lieutenant Charlotte Adams.
They share a toddler and initially separated in 2017 however divorce was not finalised.
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Flt Lt Adams stated: 'He then proceeded to marry a second individual, Kuki Wason, on October 29, 2021, while married to his first spouse.
'In doing so he dedicated bigamy.
'The wedding ceremony was a legitimate Kenyan wedding ceremony and in doing so he has dedicated bigamy while his first spouse was still alive and never divorced.'
A 'heavily pregnant' Kuki went together with her mum to register her marriage to Noa in February 2022.
Flt Lt Adams added: 'On the wedding certificate, [Sgt Dravikula] stated he was divorced but that was not correct.'
In the UK a nikah is simply thought-about a legally valid marriage if it takes place at a registered venue.
Couples have to register their marriage by way of an extra civil ceremony with a purpose to benefit from the authorized advantages and security of marriage.
The courtroom heard from a marriage officer who defined Islamic marriage was totally different in Kenya.
He stated their wedding ceremony certificate 'exhibits they received married'.
Noa denies bigamy and the trial continues.
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