Two newlywed couples have spent their honeymoon in the mang, after they, their entourages and guests were arrested for flouting lockdown regulations.
Over the weekend, the one KwaZulu-Natal wedding was crashed by cops and soldiers enforcing government regulations banning large gatherings due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
Officials stopped the ceremony and arrested 53 people in eNseleni, outside eMpangeni, after they were piemped by a resident.
There was to be no honeymoon for the couple who spent their first night separated and behind bars.
According to sources, when the police arrived, the pastor was taking the couple through their marriage vows.
“The police and soldiers were armed to the teeth and they stormed the tent where the wedding was taking place and arrested everyone,” said a source.
In a video, the bride is seen in her poofy white wedding dress being led to a police van, while the groom is seen holding the dress.
Newlyweds arrested. Video supplied
The couple gets into the same double cab bakkie, while other police vehicles take the arrested guests to the police station.
According to the source, the presence of the pastor raised eyebrows, as he is believed to be a medical doctor.
However, this could not be verified, reports The Mercury.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo confirmed: “We arrested 53 people, including the bridegroom, his bride and the pastor for violating the Disaster Management Act.”
OUR LOVE IS IN-TENTS: Cops and soldiers enforce the lockdown rules.
This is the second couple to be arrested for organising a wedding during the lockdown, after newlyweds from Nkandla were arrested last week.
Jabulani Zulu, 48, and his wife, Nomthandazo, 38, were not deterred by the 21-day lockdown and decided to go ahead and tie the knot.
But before their hundreds of guests could tuck into the feast, police descended on the celebrations, arrested the couple, and dispersed the crowd.
The couple has appeared in the Nkandla Magistrates’ Court and were granted bail of R1 000 each.