Johannesburg father faces jail time for failing to pay R700K child maintenance

A court order must be obeyed until properly varied or set aside, a Johannesburg father was told.

The father was held in contempt for failing to pay R722,000 in maintenance towards his child, and who was ordered to either pay-up or face 30 days in jail.

The mother of the three-year-old child turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg to hold her estranged husband in contempt of court. He was earlier ordered to pay his wife R45,000 a month maintenance, pending the finalisation of their divorce.

The husband, however, simply ignored the court order and when hauled back to court by his wife for contempt, simply maintained that he cannot afford to pay this amount.

In terms of an order granted in January last year, the husband is to pay the R45,000 interim maintenance a month, as well as contribute R50,000 towards his wife’s legal costs in their divorce.

Desperate to receive some maintenance, the wife in October last year obtained a writ from the court to attach her husband’s Honda Civic vehicle. However, upon attachment and removal of the motor vehicle by the Sheriff, the husband claimed that the vehicle had been sold to his mother and that he thus no longer owned it. 

Acting Judge F Marcandonatos remarked that courts draw a sharp line between a parent who will not pay and one who cannot pay. But the onus is on the defaulter to show bona fides – for example a genuine lack of means, coupled ideally with attempts to at least make partial payments as a sign of good faith.

Shortly after he was told to pay R45,000 a month maintenance last year, the husband tried to appeal the ruling, but he later withdrew his application. He then launched legal proceedings before the Johannesburg Maintenance Court to have the order varied to payment of R5,500 a month.

As the matter is still pending before the lower court, the husband told the high court that his wife acted prematurely in bringing the contempt application against him. Judge Marcandonatos, however, pointed out that the R45,000 a month order is still in place and the husband gave no explanation of how his wife must in the meanwhile cope without the money. 

The husband also did not play open cards by disclosing his bank statements. His wife meanwhile claimed that her husband is not frank about his financial position, as he has far more money as claimed by him. She has established that he bought event tickets amounting to R23,240 and he travels abroad and spent R12,888 on airline tickets. The husband meanwhile did not dispute this.

“The Constitutional Court has emphasised that if litigants decide which orders they obey and which to ignore, our Constitution is not worth the paper upon which it is written,” the judge commented.

The jail sentence was meanwhile suspended pending him paying the arrears immediately or in terms of an agreed instalment.

zelda.venter@inl.co.za