A SOUTH African High Court has ruled that the three children at the centre of a tragic cross-border custody dispute must remain in the country, rejecting their Zimbabwean mother’s bid to relocate them following their father’s suicide.
Gauteng High Court Division Judge Stuart David James Wilson ruled that although the children deeply loved their mother and wanted a relationship with her, it was presently in their best interests to remain in South Africa under the care of their paternal aunt, identified only as LB in court papers.
The court heard that the children’s father, identified as TC in the papers, died by suicide in November last year after allegedly becoming distressed over suspicions that his wife, FM, was involved in an extramarital affair while working in Ireland.
According to court documents, the husband drove the three children towards Louis Trichardt before stopping along the road, handing the children their birth certificates and instructing them to walk towards nearby construction workers before setting himself alight.
One of the children, a 12-year-old girl, suffered burns while trying to extinguish the flames engulfing her father.
Following the incident, the children went to live with their paternal aunt, while their mother remained abroad due to work and visa complications.
The court found that after the husband's death, the aunt deliberately prevented the wife from communicating with or seeing her children, accusing her of contributing to her husband’s death.
Judge Wilson rejected the aunt's explanation that the children themselves did not want contact with their mother.
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“I have no doubt that LB (aunt) has sought deliberately to keep the children from FM (brother's wife),” the judge said.
Despite this finding, the court ruled against immediately relocating the children to Zimbabwe because the wife intended to return to Ireland for employment, claiming the children will initially stay with relatives in Zimbabwe rather than with their mother.
The judge said the children spent their entire lives in South Africa, were settled in school there and had strong emotional bonds with their aunt despite the family conflict.
“On balance, I am satisfied that it is in the children’s best interests to remain where they are for now,” Wilson ruled.
The court, nevertheless, affirmed that the mother retained full parental rights and ordered unrestricted unsupervised contact between her and the children, including regular video and telephone communication.
The aunt was prohibited from taking any steps that can alienate the children from their mother.
A family advocate was directed to investigate long-term arrangements for the children, including the possibility of future relocation to Ireland, Zimbabwe, or another country.
The matter will remain under judicial supervision pending the family advocate’s report.
