Family brawl ends with charges

Fight over private school education for kids

A Well-known Durban attorney and his wife opened assault charges against each other after a brawl, which involved other family members, at their umhlanga flat earlier this week.

The wife wanted their three-yearold son to be enrolled at a private school for 2019, but the attorney who has other minor children from a previous marriage, refused.

The couple, who cannot be named because they are parents of minors, accepted that school fees was what sparked the fight, but disagreed on who landed the first blow as well as their ages.

The attorney’s mother-in-law, who was not present when the bust-up occurred, posted a picture of her daughter sporting a bloodied nose on Facebook.

The caption read: “This is what attorney ***** ******* does when not fighting a case, he’s busy fighting and hitting his wife” (sic).

SAPS spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed that both the husband and wife had opened common assault charges against each other.

The wife said her husband’s children moved in with them recently and he had secured their enrolment at local private schools, but not for their son.

“He said that he couldn’t afford to send our son to a private school and that I should home-school him.

“I questioned his decision which frustrated him. He became aggressive and hit me,” claimed the wife.

The woman alleged that her husband had her pinned to the ground and punched her.

The woman said she was 24 and her husband was 40. They had married in 2014 and had a troubled relationship.

“Our four years of marriage have not been rosy, it has been filled with many ups and downs. He has been abusive towards me from the time I was pregnant.”

After laying charges against her husband, the woman said he countered with charges of his own against her.

However, the attorney insisted he was first to press charges against his wife, her father and her brother, before he was counter-charged.

“They assaulted me and my sons.” He said the trouble started when his wife assaulted his teenage son and he retaliated.

“Police arrived on the scene. They interviewed her, she packed clothes to move in with her parents, she left with our child and she had no injuries.”

The attorney said he believed the image of his wife’s bloodied nose was photoshopped.

He said all the trouble between them was always over money.

“She wanted money. My funds were low because it was January. We were living apart since April. She returned in October but we never reconciled. She’s 22 and I’m 42 and her parents are about the same age as me.”

The woman said their problems were not always about money but about his extra-marital affairs. She denied that the picture of her bloodied face was photoshopped and said that she had medical reports to prove her injuries.

Both claimed they had taken interim protection orders against each other but they were yet to be served.