A British Army sergeant has been accused of bigamy after he married a second wife but claimed it didn’t count because the ceremony was done in Swahali.
Noa Dravikula, 42, separated from his first wife but was not officially divorced when he tied the knot with a second woman in a Sharia Law ceremony, a court martial heard today.
He was deployed to Kenya when he ‘started a relationship’ with Kenyan woman Kuki Wason.
Prosecutors say in October 2021, the couple enjoyed an Islamic marriage ceremony, called a nikah, which meant he was committing bigamy.
British law states couples can marry if they’re both aged 18 or over and are free to marry, if they’re single, widowed or divorced, or if they were in a civil partnership which has been dissolved.
The marriage came to the attention of the Army when Noa expressed a ‘wish’ to bring Kuki back to the UK with him.
He married his first wife in June 2011 in a Methodist church in Fiji, according to Prosecutor Flight Lieutenant Charlotte Adams.
They share a child and initially separated in 2017 but divorce was not finalised.
Flt Lt Adams said: ‘He then proceeded to marry a second individual, Kuki Wason, on October 29, 2021, whilst married to his first wife.
‘In doing so he committed bigamy.
‘The marriage ceremony was a valid Kenyan marriage ceremony and in doing so he has committed bigamy whilst his first wife was still alive and not divorced.’
A ‘heavily pregnant’ Kuki went with her mum to register her marriage to Noa in February 2022.
Flt Lt Adams added: ‘On the marriage certificate, [Sgt Dravikula] said he was divorced but that was not accurate.’
In the UK a nikah is only considered a legally valid marriage if it takes place at a registered venue.
Couples need to register their marriage through a further civil ceremony in order to enjoy the legal benefits and security of marriage.
The court heard from a marriage officer who explained Islamic marriage was different in Kenya.
He said their wedding certificate ‘shows they got married’.
Noa denies bigamy and the trial continues.
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