“He Will Not Come Back”: Court Orders Family to Reveal Whereabouts of Brain-Injured Man Hidden from Curator

For years, a man with a severe traumatic brain injury has been effectively hidden from the very officials appointed to protect him. His family, the North West High Court has now found, has obstructed every attempt to locate, assess, or treat himgoing so far as to threaten that anyone sent “will not come back.”

In a strongly worded ruling, Acting Deputy Judge Andre Henry Petersen ordered three family members to disclose the man’s whereabouts within five days and to cease all interference with court-appointed officials. The judgment exposes a disturbing pattern of concealment that has placed both the patient and the public at serious risk.

A History of Injury, Violence, and Refused Care

The patient’s troubles began in 2010, when a car accident left him with a fractured skull and cerebral contusions. A neurosurgeon and clinical psychologist confirmed permanent neuropsychological damage. In 2017, the North Gauteng High Court declared him incapable of managing his own affairs.

Yet when Ewan Carter Smith was appointed as curator bonis (guardian of property) in 2021, he found himself chasing a ghost. Private investigators were hired; the family refused to cooperate. The patient’s location remained unknown.

The court heard evidence of the patient’s history of violent and aggressive behaviour, including incidents involving knives at school. Medical professionals had recommended psychiatric admission. His family refused. Social workers and therapists were denied access.

Then came the threats. In an email, one family member reportedly warned that anyone dispatched to the patient “will not come back.” The court did not mince words: this conduct was “unlawful and dangerous.”

The Family’s Legal Gambit

The family opposed the curator’s application, arguing that proceedings should be halted pending a rescission bid against the original 2017 order. Judge Petersen dismissed this, noting they had not filed a formal counter-application. Their opposition, he ruled, failed.

More critically, he held that the patient’s best interests were paramount. Continued concealment posed “a serious risk to his safety and the safety of others.”

What Happens Now

The court has appointed Anneke Else Greeff to take temporary charge of the patient’s personal care, with powers to arrange medical, psychological, and social assessments and authorise treatment. The family must:

• Reveal the patient’s location within five days.

• Cooperate in transporting him to a suitable care facility within ten days.

• Cease all threats or obstruction against court officials, medical staff, or police.

They were also ordered to pay the costs of the applicationa rare and deliberate financial sanction.

A Story of Control, Not Care

This is not a tale of loving protection gone awry. It is a story of control exercised at the expense of a vulnerable man’s well-being, enabled by a family’s defiance of lawful authority. The court has now drawn a line, affirming that no individualhowever cherished by kincan be held hostage to the very people meant to care for them. The judgment insists that protection is not possession, and that love does not license obstruction.

{Source: IOL}

Follow Joburg ETC on Facebook, Twitter , TikTok and Instagram

For more News in Johannesburg, visit joburgetc.com