A Western Cape man, who was taking care of a child he thought was his, had his parental responsibilities and rights terminated.
The ruling was made by the Western Cape High Court after the man conducted two DNA tests which showed that he was not the father of the child born in his previous marriage.
The former couple got married in 2012 and the child was born in 2017. In December 2022, they got divorced.
During the divorce settlement, it was agreed that he would pay R7,500 child maintenance and he would also keep the child on his medical aid.
It’s not clear when, but information came to his attention that he may not be the biological father of the child.
This was after he saw a WhatsApp conversation between his ex-wife and another man, MW, which showed that they had been having an affair when he was working overseas.
On reflection, he realised that the period corresponded more or less with the child's estimated date of conception.
Moreover, in the WhatsApp conversation, MW told the man’s ex-wife in Afrikaans, “kyk moi na my dogtertji”, loosely translated to “please look after my little girl”.
Based on the information, he had two paternity tests performed in different labs and both results came back the same, excluding him as the father.
He sought relief at the high court releasing him from any parental duties related to the child and also wanted his name removed from the birth certificate.
In his application, he added that the mother and MW made him believe he was the father for the purpose of benefiting from his child maintenance payments.
When the mother was served with court papers, she didn’t opposed the application and was not available during court proceedings.
Judge Dumisani Lekhuleni said based on the facts presented by the man, it was clear that the mother knew all along that the ex-husband was not the father of the child but decided to conceal this information.
“Her communication with MW clearly demonstrates that she knew that the applicant (ex-husband) was not the child's father,’’ said the judge.
“In my view, the respondent's (mother) conduct appears to be a paternity fraud. Her conduct in my view, constitutes misrepresentation,” Lekhuleni said
“The respondent intentionally identified the applicant as the father of her child knowing very well that the child’s father was WM. As previously stated, the DNA test have excluded the applicant as the father of the child.”
As result, Lekhuleni said the man’s responsibilities towards the child have been terminated.
He said the man can approach the Department of Home Affairs for alteration and deletion of his name as the father of the child on the population register and her birth certificate without the mother’s consent.
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