South Africa:Court orders DNA test after Limpopo husband claims he can’t have children in maintenance dispute
The Limpopo High Court in Polokwane has stepped into a very bitter family issue as an estranged couple battles over the maintenance and paternity of their two-year-old daughter.
The main point of contention is the husband’s adamant denial of paternity, which he bases on a previous vasectomy and his claim that he is not the child’s father. He claimed to have a medical disease known as azoospermia, which results in a total lack of sperm.
To support his allegation, he submitted the court with medical documents as evidence. His denial prompted him to pursue legal redress, ultimately resulting to an order for DNA testing to determine his biological kinship with the child.
The couple had a relationship that the woman asserts was a legitimate customary marriage, a claim the husband contests. The woman maintains that her husband is the biological father of their two-year-old daughter, a claim the husband disputes as impossible.
The couple is currently in the process of divorce, with the validity of their customary marriage being one of the contentious issues in the proceedings.
A previous court had ordered that the parties submit the child for DNA testing, but this was not carried out due to an ongoing appeal by the mother concerning this and other legal matters.
Previously, the woman secured an order from the Children’s Court mandating the husband to provide maintenance for both her and the child while the divorce is being finalised. Although the husband initially complied with the maintenance order, he subsequently ceased payments.
His wife then obtained a contempt of court ruling against him, resulting in a fine of R50,000 or a 13-month prison sentence, which was entirely suspended on the condition that he does not commit a similar offence.
According to his wife’s legal representative, he is currently six months in arrears on both spousal and child maintenance, totaling R126,000. His failure to appear in court later resulted in a warrant for his arrest, with his wife’s legal counsel dubbing him a “fugitive from justice.”
In this latest application, the judge emphasised that a paternity test would definitively resolve the maintenance conflict. The couple had a relationship that the woman asserts was a legitimate customary marriage, a claim the husband contests.
If the injunction is denied, the spouse would suffer irreversible harm because his life will stay unknown and he won’t be able to go forward. Furthermore, he is subject to the prospect of criminal prosecution for neglecting to sustain the kid and the mother. This prospective criminal record could threaten his ability to continue operating as a legal practitioner, leading to significant ramifications for his professional career. The judge said by granting the order for a DNA test, it will minimise further judicial and administrative processes in respect to the kid, thereby acting in her best interests. “Resolving this conflict is in the best interests of justice.