Unmarried dad wins custody of child
The unmarried father of a two-year-old girl has been awarded temporary custody of her pending a probe into her wellbeing.
|||Pretoria - The unmarried father of a two-year-old girl has been awarded temporary custody of her pending an investigation by the family advocate into her wellbeing.
The raging battle between the warring parents played out in the high court in Pretoria on Thursday, with the judge making a ruling in the interests of the child.
While the father had turned to the court in July to get temporary custody of his daughter, the mother – who then only had restricted access – turned to court to have the custody order overturned on the grounds that she was the child’s sole guardian and the father only had contact rights.
But Judge Moses Mavundla made it clear that while it may have been the way things were in the past, the rights of biological fathers were in terms of the Children’s Act, much broader than merely contact rights.
Judge Mavundla said it was typical of a situation where once people stopped looking through rose-tinted glasses, they “become like two fighting bull elephants charging at each other, with no quarter given”.
“(They) see nothing but an enemy, (and) destroy everything around them,” he said, referring to the child who became an innocent victim in the middle.
“The court, as upper guardian, is enjoined to protect the innocent child at all times,” he said.
When the father initially turned to court to assert his paternal rights it was because he was afraid his daughter was being abused when she was with her mother. When Judge Mavundla saw the pictures this week, he remarked that they did not show radiance, “but rather an unhappy and stressed child”.
One picture showed the little girl’s face, with a black eye, associated with blunt force trauma. Another showed three marks around her spinal area, while the last picture showed a dark line just above her panties.
While the mother did not dispute the first marks, she claimed the third picture showed a birthmark.
A doctor stated that the child was very distressed and visibly distraught and had cried when he wanted to examine her.
The father said after the child had been with the mother, she was distant and no longer played or laughed. He noticed marks on her body, resembling finger marks. He said the child’s mother told him the child had fallen. He also noticed other marks, which she explained away by saying the child walked into a wall, and said the marks on her back had been caused by a seatbelt.
The mother admitted to court that the child had injuries, but said they were due to “unfortunate incidents”.
She also complained that the doctor who examined the child at the father’s request, did so without her consent. She instructed her attorney to report the doctor to the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
Judge Mavundla said the mother’s denials did not negate an inference that she was failing in ensuring the child’s well-being. He ruled she should stay with the dad.
Pretoria News