Cape Town father faces court contempt for prioritising business over child maintenance.
A Cape Town father has been found in contempt of court after the Western Cape High Court ruled that he prioritised funding his business interests over meeting his court-ordered maintenance obligations to his estranged wife and their two minor children.
Judge Tandaza Ndita found that the man willfully and in bad faith failed to comply with a maintenance order requiring him to pay R42,000 per month, despite claiming that he could no longer afford the payments.
The court declared him in contempt and sentenced him to 90 days' imprisonment, wholly suspended on condition that he settles outstanding maintenance arrears of R136,000 within 20 days and strictly complies with the maintenance order going forward.
The case arose from ongoing divorce proceedings between the parties, whose trial is scheduled for February 2027. An interim maintenance order was initially granted in January 2023 and later varied in June 2023, requiring the husband to pay a monthly R42,000 towards the maintenance of his wife and two children.
