|
Dramatic twist in divorce case. By Johan Gagiano*
|
| These are quoted extracts from an article that appeared in
the Pretoria News on 23 November 1998 on page 3 |
| |
| A four-year High Court battle for a divorce settlement has
taken a dramatic turn for a senior medical aid official - he has finally
lost not only his wife and his worldly possessions but also his freedom. |
| (Defendant) (46), of Vereeniging has been jailed for six
months by Pretoria High Court Judge (name withheld) for contempt of court. |
| (Defendant) was also ordered on his release from prison to
pay his former wife R3500 a month support for the rest of his life. |
| An application for leave to appeal against all the judge's
rulings, except the final divorce order, was brought before the Pretoria
High Court last week. The application was dismissed with costs. |
| Giving judgement in the appeal application, Judge (name
withheld) explained why he might have diverted from court procedure by
actively participating in in-depth cross-examination... "In this
case, one party was represented by a lawyer assisted by junior and senior
counsel while the other had neither representation nor any legal
background. She had to be given a fair chance" |
| Regarding (Defendant's) prison sentence for contempt, the
judge dismissed the applicant's claim that it was out of line. Two
previous three-month jail sentences in terms of a Rule 43 order (an
interim ruling in favour of Mrs (Applicant) for financial help until the
case was finally settled) were evaded. |
| (Defendant's) employer proposed that he resign - just to be
reappointed - to qualify for a pension payout to settle legal bills and
other outstanding debts, including the Rule 43 arrears. This could
actually amount to defeating the ends of justice, the judge said. |
| The court was told that (Defendant's) financial affairs
were in present in such turmoil that he could not even surrender his
estate. |
| |
| The above contains only certain extracts from the article
but shows the general details. |
| Applicant's, Defendant's and the Honorable Judge's names
were withheld. |
| * Copyright of the article rests with Pretoria News |
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