Marriage and custom marriage?

From the BBC:

Poor PM Tsvangirai...one of his girlfriends (who is part of ZANU PF of course) is claiming she is his wife under a "customary marriage" act.

But customary marriage requires family agreement and a payment of lobola (bride price). So what it means is that she slept with him, period, and is now claiming a "common law" marriage.

Ms Tembo, 39, a commodity trader and sister of a Zanu-PF MP, had demanded $15,000 (£9,310) a month in maintenance expenses from the prime minister.
In November, Ms Tembo and Mr Tsvangirai reportedly held a traditional wedding, and Mr Tsvangirai had paid a bride price of several hundred thousand dollars.
Shortly thereafter, Mr Tsvangirai said their relationship had been "irretrievably damaged" after it was "hijacked" by his opponents, including state security agents.

Ah, but if it was a traditional marriage, you don't need a paper to dissolve the marriage, and if she hasn't had a baby, that would be one reason to demand back the bride price....