KEY POINTS
- The court ruled in the favour of a widow against RAF.
- Chauke the man who died through road accident lied about his former marital status.
- The widow will now be have access to financial help from RAF.
Judicial authority from the South Gauteng High Court based in Johannesburg recognized the customary marriage bond between Catherine Letaoana and Samuel Chauke at the point of his death while demanding the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to pay compensation for loss of support.
Johannesburg’s South Gauteng High Court decided the case after a long period of litigation surrounding Chauke’s marital status with Catherine Letaoana who survived him following his 2011 car accident death.
Chauke lied about past relationship
Prior to his union with Flora Manganyi Chauke formed a civil relationship through marriage that disappeared two decades ago. Evidently their marital separation did not become a legal divorce according to official records.
Chauke revealed to Letaoana that he was divorced in their first encounter during 2007. Following confirmation from his relatives including his son and uncle and trusting his word directly Letaoana started living with Chauke in August 2007.
The couple followed the wedding customs that existed between Tsonga and Tswana tribes. Letaoana married Chauke at her family home that March 2010 before they traveled to Malamulele in Limpopo to meet his family who happily received her as the new member of their clan. Familial members seated Letaoana on the widow’s traditional mattress at Chauke’s funeral because they acknowledged her status as his wife.
After Chauke died Letaoana discovered she became a policy beneficiary since the insurance benefits split between her and Manganyi as 60 percent and 40 percent respectively. Letaoana gave some part of her inheritance to Chauke’s mother. Letaoana along with her recent spouse maintain their existence through support from government assistance even though they officially tied the knot in March 2024.
A South African court ruled that traditional marriage takes precedence over civil marriage therefore it invalidated the civil union between the couple.
Court approved customary marriage status
The RAF made a claim to invalidate Letaoana’s customary marriage because the Civil Union Act forbids partners who share a pre-prior civil union from entering into new matrimonial bonds. The Court did not hear any plea regarding this defense nor did the defense materialize during the cross-examination period. Through his ruling Judge Dawid Marais rejected the RAF’s argument which relied on Chauke’s death certificate because the document did not provide clear marital details and failed to describe the relationship type.
The evidence presented by Letaoana proved trustworthy to Judge Marais because she reasonably believed Chauke divorced when learning from him and his family about his status as a pastor. The court approved customary marriage status before instructing RAF to provide financial help to Letaoana due to the loss of family support. The court postponed the matter to decide which compensation amount would be proper for the case.
