Western Cape Man Released from Parental Duties After DNA Test

In a landmark ruling, the Western Cape High Court has terminated the parental responsibilities and rights of a man after evidence proved he was not the biological father of the child he thought was his own. The couple, who got married in 2012 and separated in 2022, had been embroiled in a case that highlights the complexities of parental duties and the consequences of paternity fraud.

During the marriage, the man was under the belief the child born to them in 2017 was his own. It was only upon discovering incriminating WhatsApp messages between his ex-wife and another man, referred to in court papers as MW, that the plaintiff began to question the paternity of the child. The WhatsApp exchanges suggested a concealed affair, timed around the child's conception period, with MW making affectionate references to the child as "my little girl" in Afrikaans.

Acting on his suspicions, the plaintiff sought the truth through two separate DNA tests, which unanimously excluded him as the biological parent. The revelation led him to the high court, seeking freedom from his current parental obligations, including R7,500 monthly child maintenance and medical aid coverage.

The defendant, the child's mother, did not contest the application and was noticeably absent from court proceedings. Judge Dumisani Lekhuleni delivered a decisive judgment, pointing to intentional misrepresentation by the child's mother, identifying it as a clear-cut case of paternity fraud.

Lekhuleni's ruling not only untethered the man from his parental duties but also paved the way for him to request the Department of Home Affairs to remove his name from the child's birth certificate. This ruling marks a significant verdict in the South African judicial system concerning cases of paternity deceit and the legal implications for all parties involved.

The case underlines the importance of genetic testing in resolving parental disputes and acts as a caution for parties involved in deliberate misinformation. This judgment does not only bring personal relief to the man wronged but also sets a judicial precedent for similar cases in South Africa.