Cape Town - A Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge has ordered that a woman be allowed to move her 2-year-old daughter from Durban to Cape Town, despite being challenged by the biological father for paternal rights.
Following a domestic dispute, Judge Robert Mossop ordered that up until the child reaches first grade, the mother is allowed to relocate to Cape Town in pursuit of her career, and further that the father make an effort to visit his daughter in Cape Town.
The judge further made an order for alternative visitation in the form of visual communication and holiday visitation at the parents’ discretion.
The couple were in a relationship from November 2019 to February 2022 and had a baby together. By the time the child was just over a year old, the pair parted ways but the father remained present in the child’s life.
When the mother was offered a more lucrative position in October 2022 as a domestic underwriter (insurance), she grabbed the opportunity and immediately informed the father.
The father of three had concerns about maintaining the relationship between his daughter after the mother left KwaZulu-Natal, but the judge found this reasoning to be inadequate.
When the child was born, the parents had written a parental agreement, signed by both parties, which noted that neither parents would have the authority to leave the province (KZN) nor the country without the consent of the other.
“The applicant (mother) now wishes to relocate from Durban to Cape Town in pursuit of more lucrative employment within the same company that currently employs her. In terms of the non-relocation clause, the consent of the respondent is required for her proposed relocation to occur,” court papers read.
The father, by way of his lawyers, tried to argue that he does not consent to his daughter being moved from Durban to Cape Town, but this was not enough to convince the judge that the mother should be held back from pursuing her career, surrounded by a network of loving parents.
In granting the order, Judge Mossop said: “There can be no doubt that bonds with parents are vital for young children. The ability to bond with others is also of importance in the growth of a child.
“To the extent that there may be a bond already between the minor child and her half siblings, I am of the view that such bond cannot be favoured above the primary bond between the applicant (mother) and the minor child,” the judge said.
rafieka.williams@inl.co.za