Judge uses wisdom of Solomon to rule in family case

HAVING to decide on the fate of minors while their parents were at each other’s throats called for Solomon’s wisdom, a judge said yesterday in the case of a Pretoria mother wanting to relocate to Durban with her daughter.

The father turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to obtain an urgent order ban- ning her from taking the 9-yearold. The mother was packed and ready to go after resigning from her job and getting a new job in Durban.

But the court said the mother could not take the child away from its jurisdiction, in which the father and his new wife lived.

The decision was not taken lightly by Judge CJ van der Westhuizen. He opened his judgment by saying: “Having Solomon’s wisdom would be of great assistance in this matter.

“However, his practical solution would no doubt have been seen with aghast in modern times in view of society’s view on human rights and in particular children’s rights.”

The judge said the courts, as upper guardians of children, often had the daunting task in deciding the destiny of minors, especially where the parents tended to see the best interest through their own self-centered interests.

“Rightly or wrongly, that is life. It does, however, impose a greater duty on the court to determine what the best interests of the children are.”

The judge said that while the Constitution to an extent assisted in shouldering that task, on the other hand it cre- ated further difficulties. This was especially where the competing rights of the parents were identical and had to be married with one another.

In this case the parents got divorced in 2010. The child stayed with the mother with the father often visiting her.

Problems started when the father remarried in 2011 and according to the man, his former wife restricted his access to the child. A full-blown war erupted between them when the mother first removed the child from her school without the knowledge of the father, and then secretly decided to relocate to Durban.

The judge said another complicating factor was the mother’s reconversion to the Christian faith.

During her student years she converted to Islam.

In deciding all the facts, the judge concluded that “the only advantage” for the child in relocating would be that her mother, whom she dearly loves, would be happier.

He not only refused permission for the child to be taken out from Gauteng, but also made it mandatory for the parents to be assisted in working out a parenting plan,” said the judge.