Abusive husband forfeits all marital assets in divorce case

A man who was severely abusive to his wife will forfeit all financial benefits accumulated during the marriage, including the family home.

Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Noluntu Bam ordered that the man had to transfer his half of the couple’s Eersterust home into his wife’s name upon divorce. If he refused to sign these documents, the Sheriff is authorised to do so on his behalf.

The parties were married in community of property in December 2000. The wife, meanwhile, issued a summons against him for a divorce and asked that he forfeit all matrimonial benefits to which he would otherwise be entitled.

In testifying about their marriage, she said she had obtained four protection orders against him over the years.

She explained how he used to stay out on Friday nights and return home during the early hours of the morning on Sundays. On those occasions, he would rape her and call her vulgar names.

During one such occasion, the husband returned home in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, threw cold water over her while she was still in bed, and hurled abuse at her.

During another one of his violent episodes, he found her in the shower and sexually abused her.

The last straw was when the husband came home early on a Sunday, knocked on his son’s bedroom window, and asked for a jacket. The wife and son decided to take him to his friend’s house.

As the vehicle was reversing out of the garage, the husband suddenly pushed the wife towards the passenger seat and drove off with her. While in the vehicle, he assaulted her severely with a gear lock and strangled her with the seat belt, at the same time muttering murderous imprecations at her.

As a result, the wife had to undergo surgery to repair her eye. The husband was subsequently convicted and sentenced to five years in jail.

The wife testified that she has been the family’s sole provider. Throughout their marriage, he abused drugs and alcohol. He could never hold on to a job, and although he once participated in a rehabilitation programme, he did not turn his life around.

At the start of their marriage, the parties agreed that the husband would pay for the municipal charges, such as water, rates, and electricity, but he never paid a cent. At present, the debt owed to the municipality is R400,000, which the wife has to pay off.

During one promising moment, when it looked like the couple were going to work together, the wife took out a loan to pay for the husband’s training as a cabin crew member. He later secured a job with Mango as part of their cabin crew, but it was not long before he was asked to leave.

When it was the husband’s turn to defend his wife’s case, he had nothing to tell the court.

Judge Bam subsequently accepted the wife’s evidence and found that throughout the marriage, he evaded responsibility. This resulted in substantial misconduct, and he should thus forfeit his share of the marital assets, she said.