Limpopo Wife Stripped Of Pension Share After DNA Exposes Secret Children

Divorce is often messy, but a Limpopo court case has reminded South Africans just how high the stakes can be when trust, money, and family collide.

The Marriage That Unraveled

The couple married in community of property back in 2015. At the time, the woman was just 30 years old, while her husband was almost 60. They welcomed a child in 2016, but by 2019 cracks were already showing. The wife left the marital home, returned briefly, and was eventually served with divorce papers in 2021 after accusations of infidelity and abuse.

Children, Secrets, And DNA

What truly turned the case on its head were two children born during the marriage — one in 2019 and another in 2022. Both were claimed by the wife as her husband’s, and she even demanded maintenance for them. But DNA tests later confirmed what the husband suspected: neither child was his.

This revelation not only shattered whatever trust was left but also became central to the legal battle over the couple’s estate.

Courtroom Showdown

In her appeal to the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane, the wife argued that adultery should not automatically cost her a share of her ex-husband’s pension. She claimed she contributed to the household despite being unemployed and accused her husband of abuse, insisting that should have been taken more seriously.

But Judge Mariska Naude-Odendaal was not convinced. The court ruled that the wife had not only been unfaithful but had also misled the court by swearing under oath that the children were her husband’s. Evidence also showed she used his bank card for her affairs.

The ruling left her with nothing from the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) she had been fighting for.

Public Reaction And Social Debate

On social media, the judgment sparked heated debate. Some argued that the court was right to punish deception, while others highlighted the imbalance of power in a marriage where one partner was almost 30 years older and allegedly abusive. Many South Africans also questioned whether pension law should treat infidelity as harshly as financial misconduct.

One Facebook commenter summed up the public mood bluntly: “Trust is expensive. Once it’s gone, you can’t buy it back with a pension.”

Bigger Picture

Cases like this shed light on South Africa’s divorce laws, particularly when couples marry in community of property. While adultery is no longer a criminal offence, it can still carry weight in divorce settlements — especially when it involves dishonesty around children and finances.

For many, this ruling will be remembered less as a technical legal matter and more as a cautionary tale about betrayal, family, and the financial consequences of broken trust.

Source:The South African 

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