Katlego Sekhu
A mother has been sentenced to 45 days in prison for denying the father access to their child. Advocate Brenda Makganyoha, Principle Family Advocate for Gauteng Province, joined 959 Breakfast to shed more light on the matter.
Advocate Brenda Makganyoha emphasized that Section 35 of the Children’s Act has been around for quite some time. According to her, anyone who denies a mother or a person with parental responsibilities and rights can “face hefty fines or even imprisonment.”
However, the judiciary has been a bit hesitant to enforce this section. Why, you ask? “Because of the notion that the children suffer because the person who always stays with them would be jailed, and they suffer.”
Now, due to the growing trend of mothers denying fathers access to their children and not taking into consideration the children’s best interests but their own, “The judges are now enforcing Section 35 because of the number of mothers who are refusing fathers access to their children,” explained Adv. Makganyoha.
She emphasizes that this should be a warning to mothers that it isn’t just about them. “The fathers are there as well, and they can take care of the child. We are from an era where mothers were preferred over fathers. But we are starting to see more and more fathers step up. They want to be involved in their children’s lives. There have been instances where fathers got custody of the child and mothers got visitation rights,” said Adv. Makganyoha.
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