Pretoria - “Jail time for me, nothing for you. I don’t have that kind of money anymore.”
These were the words of a husband to his estranged wife shortly after the court in May last year ordered him to pay R75 000 interim maintenance to his wife and children, pending the outcome of the divorce.
The husband was also ordered to contribute R150 000 towards his wife’s legal costs and foot the bill for his children’s expenses each month.
The husband ignored the order and was twice held in contempt of court. He was first committed to 30 days in jail, suspended for two years, on condition he paid the maintenance.
The husband pleaded with the court to vary the interim maintenance order and said he was no longer the successful businessman he once was. He claimed he could no longer afford to pay. But the wife told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, this was not true – her husband often travelled abroad for holidays and was still leading a luxurious lifestyle.
She turned to court again to hold her husband in contempt of court. Her calculations showed he is R2 million in arrears with the maintenance, she said.
Shortly after his first order last year, he sent her an email, “Dream on”, she said. From then on it became an uphill battle for the wife to get the husband to comply with the maintenance order.
It is not in dispute that the husband failed to comply with the court order, his case is that he is not in wilful default as circumstances have changed. Last year’s court order rendered him liable for R430 758 maintenance a month, he said.
The wife at the time went back to court to hold him in contempt. It was ordered that he spend 30 days in jail if he did not honour his obligations within 24 hours of that order.
Yet the husband did not comply and asked the order be varied. He told the court he was so out of pocket, he was going to move in with his parents. But the wife said he was ignoring his maintenance obligations while living it up.
He enjoyed extended holidays in Greece, Cyprus, France (Paris and Euro-Disney), Mykonos and Santorini, jet-set holiday destinations, she said.
He also recently sold two properties for about R13 million – yet still refused to comply with the orders of the court.
Other than a general denial, the husband did not advance any facts to dispute the allegations by the wife.
He did submit a payslip stating he now earned only R50 000 a month.
The court noted that the payslip reflected his name and amount of pay, but his employer’s name was redacted.
The husband said he instructed his legal representatives not to disclose his employer’s details out of fear that his wife would contact his new employer and defame him (the husband).
Acting Judge MM Mojapelo said the Constitutional Court warned against recalcitrant maintenance defaulters who use legal processes to sidestep their obligations to their children.
“In my view, the husband has failed to rebut the inference that his non-compliance was not wilful and mala fide,” the judge said in finding him in contempt of court. This time jail time was upped to 90 days. The husband was given 72 hours to pay. If he did not, he had to submit himself to the SAPS to start serving his time. It is not clear if he did pay up.
Pretoria News