http://www.the-latest.com/bbc-cameraman-how-i-bought-my-south-african-brideI'm sitting in my car, in a quiet side-street in Soweto, fidgeting. Beside me, my friend Mpho is telling lame jokes to try to ease the tension.
Outside, I can see a long row of bungalows. Each with individually designed steel gates and brightly painted walls. There are BMWs and Mercedes parked on neat driveways.
These days most of Soweto feels like a cosy suburb. A far cry from the anti-apartheid street-battles of the 1970s and 80s. My mobile phone buzzes. It's a text from Bra Gugu. He's one of my key negotiators.
"It's sorted," he says. I feel a surge of relief, and adrenalin.
Then Gugu and the team appear at the gate. And behind them, the tall, slim figure of Kutlwano - the woman I've just bought. According to local custom, we are now man and wife.
Here in South Africa they call it lobola or bohali. But the tradition of paying a dowry of cattle for your wife is practised across Africa. When I first met Kutlwano, two years ago, the tradition struck me as archaic and somehow demeaning to women.
But I've seen how important it is here and how seriously it's taken. When I realised that I'd finally met the woman I wanted to marry, I knew I had to do things the African way - and hopefully earn the respect of Kutlwano's family.
Bohali isn't a simple procedure. It is a long, elaborate process with many rules - each depending on the tribe and inclinations of the families involved.
My first duty was to write a letter to Kuts' father, informing him that my family intended to pay a visit.
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