Lobola is the bride price in African custom that the groom’s family pays to the bride’s family for two purposes, the first being to build a relationship between the two families and the second being the groom’s family showing appreciative to the bride’s family for raising the groom’s wife. Previously, cattle were used at the dowry, but lobola can be paid in cash because of modernization and people living in homes with smaller yards. Still, it all depends on the final decision of both families during lobola negotiations.
Prince Kaybee’s opinion about lobola
Last night, the DJ and Charlotte, Club Controller, and Fetch Your Life hitmaker Prince Kaybee whose real name is Kabelo Motsamayi, took to Twitter to slam the customary practice saying it was unnecessary. He tweeted, “So I read somewhere that some men take loans to pay lobola, live trying to pay back the loans while paying for everything in the house then get divorced losing everything but debts. 35% of those men commit suicide.”
He later went on to say that the society we live in promotes the 50/50 narrative, so it makes absolutely zero sense for a man to pay for lobola when both bride and groom are now equal partners in their marriage. He also said that no bride price would be paid for his daughter when she married because it’s unnecessary.
People’s views on the DJ’s opinion
Some of the DJ’s followers agreed with him. Points were raised on the current economic climate and how much lobola costs; some spoke about how some relationships fail. Some decided that investing in a couple’s future is wiser than lobola.
Some followers disagreed with him. They reminded the hitmaker that lobola goes deeper than just paying the bride price. It’s a custom that’s been around since the civilisations of our ancestors. It should be preserved, so the future generations know who they are and where they come from.
It’s 2021, and the world is evolving. People follow the practices they believe in.