Drum – 15 August 2019

http://www.drum.co.za 15 AUGUST (^2019) | 43
Doyouhavea legalproblembutcan’tafford
a lawyer?
Nthabicanhelpyou.Writea lettertoDRUM,PO
Box653284,Benmore2016.Ifyouhaveemail,
[email protected], orSMSyour
questiontoAusiNthabion36489.EachSMScostsR1,50.
Youdon’thavetouseyourrealname.
ASK
NTHABI
‘Themidwifeisnotlegally
entitled to keep your money’
Nthabiseng Monareng holds LLB and
LLM degrees from the University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Nthabi has
more than 10 years’ experience in the legal field,
specialising in family law. She’s written books
on family law and is a family law mediator.
DRIVINGWHILE
TALKINGONPHONE
WhiledrivingI had
totakeanurgent
callfrommywife.
Trafficofferssawmeand
myphonewasconfiscated.
I wastoldI needtopay
a finebeforegettingmy
phoneback.Dotheyhave
a righttotakemyphone?
ANONYMOUS,MAYFAIR
Trafficofficershave
beenlegallyauthorised
toconfiscatea cellphone
iftheycatchthedriverspeaking
onitwhiledriving.Togetyour
cellphonebackyoumustpay
thefineandcollectyourphone.
Ifyoubelievetheofficers
actedharshlyastherewasa real
needforyoutotakethecalleven
thoughyouweredriving,youcan
takethemattertocourt.
Butyou’llhavetoweighthe
costsofpayinga fineversus
fightingthematterincourt.
CANI OPENACASE
OFRAPE?
I’vejustlearntmy
16-year-olddaughter
isina relationship
witha 25-year-oldman.
Theyaresexuallyactive.
CanI opena caseofrape
againsttheman?My
daughterrefusestoopen
a case,sayingshe’sinlove
withtheboyfriendandthe
sexisconsensual.
ANONYMOUS,SOWETO
The age of consent
to engage in sex is 16.
If your 16-year-old
daughter voluntarily entered into
a relationship with this man and
she consented to them having
sex, a case of rape cannot be
opened.
Talk to your daughter about
the dangers of dating an older
man and also about the risks
of pregnancy and STDs. But
unfortunately the courts cannot
give an order that the two must
end their relationship.
WHOSEHOUSEISIT?
My neighbour’s sister
died and left three
children behind.
The children each have
their own fathers. After
her burial, the father of
the lastborn came to her
RDP house and is now
demanding that the other
two siblings move out.
Who is legally entitled
to the house and to live in
it? Can the two children be
evicted? The deceased was
unmarried.
ANONYMOUS,NELLMAPIUS
The law of intestate
succession is applicable
in this case and in terms
of this law only the children are
legally entitled to inherit the
house, in equal share.
The father of the lastborn is
not entitled to the house and he
also doesn’t have a legal right to
occupy the house.
The two children can obtain
a protection order against the
father of their sibling. They can
also get an attorney to have him
evicted.
HOWTOGETPAPGELD?
I’m a 20-year-old
woman from the
Eastern Cape. I have
a four-month-old baby
girl. Her father left for
the Western Cape when I
was five months’ pregnant
without telling me that
he planned to leave. He
promised to send money
for the child but hasn’t yet.
How do I go about suing for
maintenance? I have a copy
of his ID card.
ANONYMOUS,KOMANI
You need to go to your
nearest magistrate’s
court and open a file
for maintenance. At the main-
tenance court they may appoint
investigators to try to find the
father, especially his place of
work if he’s employed.
I paidfortheservicesofa privatemidwife
butduetocomplicationsgavebirthata
publichospital.I wenttothemidwifeto
requestsherefundmetheR18 000 I paidher.She
refusedandsaidit wasn’therfaultI gavebirthat
a publichospital.
ANONYMOUS,CENTURION
As a client, you have a right to be refunded for
services not rendered. The midwife is not legally
entitled to keep your money if the service was not
provided because of hospitalisation or death.
Having complications and giving birth at a public hospital
was beyond your control and the midwife is legally required
to refer all pregnant women with complications to hospital.
Since the refund you are requesting is below R20 000,
you can sue her via the small claims court. You don’t need
an attorney to do this.
CAN I SUE MY MIDWIFE?
ADVICE