Can I sue my husband for marrying someone in a customary wedding when he is still legally married to me?

The long answer

Thank you for your email asking if you can sue your husband for marrying someone under customary law while still married to you under civil law.

You probably know that legally, his marriage to the second wife does not exist – it is not a valid marriage. (Section 10(4) of the Recognition Act (of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998) does not allow parties in a civil marriage to enter into a customary marriage.) But when it comes to suing your husband i.e, taking legal action against him, the situation is more complicated: If you did not take out an ante-nuptial contract before you got married, you would automatically be married in community of property.
Divorcelaws.co.za explains that spouses married in community of property cannot sue each other for damages: it would be pointless, they say, as money taken from the joint estate to pay the one spouse, would simply fall back into the joint estate.

They explain that there is just one exception to this rule: this is that one spouse can sue the other for non-financial loss arising out of bodily injuries caused by the other
spouse. “For example, if the wife is a passenger in a car driven by her husband, and because of his negligent driving, they are involved in a car accident, she can sue him for her pain and suffering because it is a non-financial loss. She can’t sue him for her medical expenses, since they are considered a financial loss. Damages that she recovers in respect of the non-financial loss (damages paid to her for pain and suffering) will fall into her own estate, outside the joint estate.” So, no, it does not seem that you can sue him.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie