- Court declares former husband a vexatious litigant under the Vexatious Proceedings Act.
- Over ten failed legal attempts since the 2020 divorce exposed as abuse of process.
- He may not bring any new cases against his ex-wife without prior court permission.
The 2020 divorce should have marked closure for both parties. Instead, it became the spark for years of relentless legal disputes. Since the divorce, the respondent launched no fewer than 10 unsuccessful applications, from appeals in the High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, and Constitutional Court, to petitions in the Maintenance and Domestic Violence Courts.
Each attempt failed, yet he continued to pursue new proceedings, illustrating a clear pattern of vexatious litigation. For the applicant, the repeated court battles were not abstract legal matters; they imposed financial costs, emotional strain, and ongoing stress, forcing her to relive a painful chapter of her life repeatedly.
Complaints, threats, and blackmail
The respondent’s actions extended beyond normal litigation. He lodged complaints against his own and his ex-wife’s lawyers, as well as judges and forensic experts involved in the case. He threatened legal representatives with claims of up to R210 million and even attempted blackmail to postpone the sale of property ordered under court execution.
Justice LG Nuku noted that these tactics were not isolated incidents but part of a persistent pattern of harassment, disrupting the legal process and threatening professionals involved.
Abuse of rights and judicial authority
While declaring someone a vexatious litigant limits their constitutional right of access to courts, the judge found that in this case, such a step was justified. Judge Nuku highlighted that repeated attempts to overturn a final divorce order, even after the Constitutional Court had ruled, were not legitimate legal efforts but attempts to subvert justice.
“The respondent has persistently instituted legal proceedings without any reasonable ground,” the judgment reads, underscoring that the abuse of court processes cannot be tolerated.
Costs and consequences
The court confirmed the respondent as a vexatious litigant, barring him from initiating any new legal proceedings against his former wife without leave of the court. However, additional conditions, such as requiring him to comply with all outstanding divorce obligations before being allowed to litigate further, were rejected as unjustified.
The respondent must also pay the costs of this application on a party-and-party basis, including counsel fees. For the applicant, the ruling represents relief after years of protracted legal conflict and vindicates her right to finality in the divorce process.
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