Doctor nailed in child maintenance case

Senior Bulawayo medical practitioner, Doctor Nkonzo Ndebele has had to be instructed by a court order to take responsibility for his six year old daughter.

Appearing at the Bulawayo civil court Dr Ndebele had to endure the embarrassment of having the courts compel him to share part of his income with his family. The prominent Bulawayo doctor was last week dragged to the courts by his customarily wedded wife Ms Grace Ndlovu after the doctor had failed to take care of his family's financial needs.

In her affidavit in court, Ms Ndlovu had asked the courts to compel Ndebele to contribute $3750 of his estimated $25000 monthly income towards the family's upkeep. Ms Ndlovu demanded her husband who is living with the family to amongst other things pay for their daughter's school fees at a city private school. She also demanded the doctor to provide the family with money for rental and entertainment in DSTV subscription.

In his counter affidavit, Dr Ndebele had made an offer to contribute only $100 per month towards the upkeep of the family. Dr Ndebele tried to convince the court that he was only making enough to pay $100 to his relatively upper class family.

In his affidavit Ndebele said that he didn't consider his family's life style as lavish and so not deserving the claims from his wife. The family resides in the uptown suburb of Manning Dale and their daughter attends a private school that needs over $1000 school fees per term.

In judgement, the court rejected the doctor's $100 claim and literally compelled him to assume his role as the father of the house and meet his family's commitments. Among other things, Ndebele was ordered to pay his daughter's school fees in full before start of every school term.

Further to that, Ndebele was ordered to buy school and sports uniforms for their child every term and pay for two extra curriculum activities for their daughter including purchase of all equipment needed for those activities. The courts also compelled the doctor to subscribe his daughter to medical aid cover after the doctor had contested medical aid cover claiming that he had a lot of friends in the medical fraternity who would give the family free medical attention.

The court sealed the judgement against Ndebele by compelling him to pay an extra $350 per month in cash for the general upkeep of the family and also set aside $150 per month for the child's clothing. The court's order is effective from the 30th of September 2014 until the child turns eighteen.

In an interview after after the judgement, Ms Ndlovu expressed some relief on the court's ruling but still not happy with having to drag her prominent husband to a court of law over their domestic matters.

"I am certainly relieved with the judgement as it encompasses some of the claims we put through which is good for our daughter but its however sad that we have had to take this route with my husband while we stay in the same house," she said.

No comment could be obtained from Dr Ndebele who was not reachable on his mobile phone.