‘Violent’ husband ordered to pay R77 000 maintenance

AN EGYPTIAN farmer has been ordered, pending divorce action, to pay his estranged wife just over R77000 per month for maintenance compared to the R2 000 he offered at the start of the proceedings at the South Gauteng High Court.

The estranged couple, who share a minor daughter and adult son, have been living apart since November last year after the woman fled from the family home, having allegedly suffered a tumultuous marriage with a history of abuse, intimidation and violence.

The woman, a cancer survivor, has relied on her husband for their living expenses. The parties are married out of community of property, including accruals, and the family home is the applicant’s (wife) home.

The man owns a seven-hectare working farm, has several income streams and receives income from rental property in Egypt. He has an estimated property portfolio valued at R25 million. The family enjoyed at least two annual overseas trips and their household budget totalled about R85000 per month. They employed a chef, two bodyguards, a gardener and a domestic helper.

“(A witness) submitted that although all the luxuries have been available to her and their children, they have lived in a very volatile home environment, due to his temper and his controlling manner. The applicant has lived in frustration and fear all along. She was 37 at the date of marriage and is unable to continue to live a life of degradation and to watch her young daughter grow in this environment.

“She asks the court to order pendente lite (depending on the outcome of litigation) that the minor child’s primary residence be with her and that he continues to pay for her school expenses while she be allowed to manage their daily expenses,” court documents read.

According to the court papers, each time she pursued a business, the husband would interfere with its management, and eventually she handed her last business to him to run. It did not last long as he and the staff could not get along.

“The further evidence is that she has suffered a long history of abuse, intimidation and violence at the hands of the respondent who has a controlling personality… In 2002, the husband pointed a firearm at their minor child. She reported this to the

SAPS, but nothing came of it and she was advised that the ‘file had gone missing’. The husband had threatened to kill her and set her alight. They lived in a very volatile home environment,” the court papers stated.

In an extensive costs order by Judge Ismail Mahomed, the man had been ordered to pay R20000 per month for maintenance to his estranged wife, R15000 maintenance per month for the minor child, R9 625 per month for medical aid premiums for the entire family, R7495 per month for household costs and R15000 for accommodation costs for the woman and their minor daughter.