The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ordered a man to pay his ex-wife over R472,000 after defaulting on spousal maintenance for almost two years.
The matter dates back to January 2022, when the man was ordered to pay R42,000 every month, which was meant to maintain his ex-wife and child.
According to the ex-wife, between January and April 2022, the ex-husband paid R168,000 and then stopped making payments, which brought the arrears to R472,080 by the end of March 2023.
In his defence, the ex-husband said that since May 2022, he has paid over R353,000 towards maintenance. However, there was no evidence to support his claims.
He further added that in March 2021, before the divorce, his ex-wife stole R2,7 million from his account.
In her response, the ex-wife said this amount was transferred to her account after reaching an agreement.
He also said that his financial status has changed as he has terminated his employment and relocated to Denmark, where he earns less than he previously earned in South Africa.
However, the court said the ex-husband failed to present evidence that he earns less in Denmark, and therefore there’s no sufficient evidence to support his claims.
The ex-husband also referred to heart attacks that he suffered, but the court found out that these unfortunate events occurred during the period 2018 to 2021, before he was ordered to pay spousal maintenance.
After reviewing the merits of the case, Judge Johannes Moorcroft said a sentence of imprisonment was not justified, considering the facts before him.
He ordered the ex-husband to pay the outstanding maintenance dating back from April 2022 to August 2023.
He also ordered the ex-husband to pay the costs of the application.
IOL