Case Law[2022] ZAGPJHC 392South Africa
JR v TR and Another (2021/21609) [2022] ZAGPJHC 392 (13 June 2022)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
13 June 2022
Headnotes
the belief that Mrs R was conducting an extramarital affair, which he considered to be irreconcilable with the continuation of a marriage relationship. This comprises one of the grounds for the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage in Mr R’s particulars of claim. In his founding affidavit in the urgent application, Mr R expressed the belief that Ms R was conducting an extramarital affair with the second respondent (Mr L).
Judgment
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## JR v TR and Another (2021/21609) [2022] ZAGPJHC 392 (13 June 2022)
JR v TR and Another (2021/21609) [2022] ZAGPJHC 392 (13 June 2022)
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sino date 13 June 2022
SAFLII
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Certain
personal/private details of parties or witnesses have been
redacted from this document in compliance with the law
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Policy
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
LOCAL DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
###
CASE
NO:
2021/21609
Reportable:
No
Of
interest to other Judges: No
Revised:
No
Date
:13/06/2022
In
the matter between:
JR
Applicant
and
TR
First Respondent
AL
Second Respondent
JUDGMENT
MAIER-FRAWLEY
J:
1.
This
is the return day of a rule
nisi
in
which the applicant seeks final relief against the first and second
respondents. The application is opposed. On 13 June 2021,
Matojane J
granted an
ex
parte
interim
interdict in favour of the applicant against the respondents in the
urgent court pursuant to the matter being found to be
urgent and duly
so enrolled. A
rule
nisi
was issued, calling on the respondents to show cause why the interim
order should not be made final. The rule was extended from
time to
time until the eventual hearing of the matter in the ordinary opposed
motion court.
[1]
2.
Inter alia,
in
terms of the order of 13 June 2021 (
the
urgent order)
:
“
2.1
The first and second respondents are interdicted and restrained from:
2.1.1
Without lawful cause, making unsolicited contact, in person,
telephonically
or in writing, including electronically or on social
media platforms, with the applicant;
2.1.2
Publishing any communications, including electronically or on social
media platforms, about the applicant which contain allegations and/or
insinuations regarding any alleged impropriety , be it personal,
professional or fiscal;
2.1.3
Making any communication, whether in writing, telephonically or
in
person that threatens, insults and/or seeks to undermine or harm the
applicant’s reputation and dignity;
2.1.4
Making attempts to have the applicant arrested without good cause,
or
threatening to do so;
2.1.5
Harassing, threatening, intimidating or verbally or physically
abusing the applicant.
2.2 The first respondent
is:
2.2.1
Interdicted and restrained from entering the former matrimonial
home
situated at [....] P [....] Road, Westcliff;
2.2.2
Interdicted and restrained from entering the farm L [....] Kraal
in T
[....] District, Western Cape;
2.2.3
Authorised,
pendent lite
the divorce action under case number
24248/2021, to occupy one of the matrimonial homes, known as H [....]
B [....], situated at
[....] M [....] R [....], K [....],
Midrand.
2.3. The second
respondent is interdicted and restrained from entering and/or
approaching:
2.3.1
The applicant’s residence at [....] P [....] Road,
Westcliff, Gauteng;
2.3.2
The applicant’s farm known as L [....] Kraal in the T [....]
district, Western Cape;
2.3.3
The applicant’s property known as H [....] B [....], [....]
M
[....] R [....], K [....], Midrand; and
2.3.4
The applicant’s offices of Roodt Inc at 7 Eton Road, Sandhurst,
Gauteng
2.4 That the first and
second respondents pay the costs of this application on an attorney
and client scale, in the event of opposition.
3. Pending the return
day, the orders in paragraphs 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 above shall have
immediate effect. ”
3.
The
applicant (
Mr
R
)
and the first respondent (
Ms
R
)
are presently married to each other. It is common cause, however,
that they no longer reside together as husband and wife and
that
their marriage has irretrievably broken down.
[2]
Since the grant of the urgent order, they also no longer co-habit
together in the same matrimonial home. They are currently embroiled
in a divorce action which is pending in this division. Preceding the
launch of the urgent application on 13 June 2021, Mr R held
the
belief that Mrs R was conducting an extramarital affair, which he
considered to be irreconcilable with the continuation of
a marriage
relationship. This comprises one of the grounds for the irretrievable
breakdown of the marriage in Mr R’s particulars
of claim. In
his founding affidavit in the urgent application, Mr R expressed the
belief that Ms R was conducting an extramarital
affair with the
second respondent (
Mr
L
).
4.
Mr L has challenged the jurisdiction of
this court to entertain this application against him on grounds that
he resides outside
the territorial jurisdiction of the court and in
Montague, Western Cape; that the electronic correspondence addressed
by him to
Mr R and/or his erstwhile attorney of record (Ms Clarke of
Clarkes attorneys, hereinafter ‘
Ms
C’
)) was addressed from his
residence situate in the district of Montague; in addition, Mr L
alleges that he has never threatened
to enter or approach any of Mr
R’s properties or offices in Gauteng and also never did so; and
finally, because the doctrine
of effectiveness is not satisfied in
casu
.
5.
It is convenient to deal first with the
jurisdictional challenge.
Jurisdictional
challenge
6.
It is common cause that Mr L resides on a
farm known situate in the district of Montague, Western Cape.
7.
During
the period 5 May 2021 to 13 June 2021,
[3]
Mr L addressed 54 unsolicited emails (most of which were addressed to
Mr R and some of which were addressed to Ms C) in which he
inter
alia
referred to Mr R as a liar, thief, a woman abuser, ‘dodgy
beyond note’
[4]
, a ‘little
japper’
[5]
, a disgrace to
the legal profession, a ‘bully’, a ‘coward having
no guts’, ‘genetic waste’,
[6]
whilst holding himself out as Ms R’s ‘benevolent
protector’, supporter and financier, and in which Mr L
inter
alia
,
threatened to expose Mr R for ‘who and what he is’ in the
press, with the expressed intention and commitment of taking
Mr R
‘from hero to zero’, including bringing an application to
have Mr R disbarred as a lawyer for ‘woman abuse’.
Mr L
sent the emails from his farm in Montagu.
8.
In his founding affidavit, Mr R alleges
that Mr L and Ms R acted in concert and with a common purpose in
addressing and sending
a barrage of threatening and defamatory emails
and in carrying on a campaign of unrelenting harassment, intimidation
and defamation
against him. At the time that the urgent application
was instituted, Mr R resided at Westcliff, Johannesburg and Ms R was
also
in residence thereat. It is not in dispute that Ms R is both
resident and domiciled within this court’s jurisdiction.
9.
In terms of
section 21
(1) of the
Superior
Courts Act, 10 of 2013
,
a
division of the High court has jurisdiction over ‘all persons
residing or being in, and in relation to all causes arising
…
within its area of jurisdiction.’ In terms of
s 21
(2), a
division also has jurisdiction over any person residing or being
outside its area of jurisdiction who is joined as a party
to any
cause in relation to which such court has jurisdiction or who in
terms of a third party notice becomes a party to such a
cause, if the
said person resides or is within the area of jurisdiction of any
other Division.
10.
Thus, this court is endowed with
jurisdiction in relation to (i) all persons residing or being within
its area of jurisdiction;
and (ii) all
causes
arising
within its jurisdiction; and
(iii) over any person residing or being
outside
its area of jurisdiction when such
person is joined as a party to any cause in relation to which the
court has jurisdiction if such
person resides or is within the area
of jurisdiction of any other division.
11.
In
Cordient
Trading,
[7]
the Supreme Court of Appeal considered that ‘
causes
arising’
within
the jurisdiction of a division of a Superior Court did not to refer
to causes of action but to all factors giving rise to
jurisdiction
under the common law.
12.
In
Zokufa,
[8]
a
case in which a mandatory interdict was sought, Alkema J considered
the meaning of ‘causes arising’ as these words
appeared
in s19(1) of the Supreme Court Act, 59 of 1959. Section 19(1) was
substantially identical in wording to
section 21(1)
of the
Superior
Courts Act, providing
as it did, that a local or provincial division
of the high court had jurisdiction over ‘all persons residing
or being in
and in relation to all causes arising…within its
area of jurisdiction’. Relying on,
inter
alia
,
cases such as Cordient Trading
supra
and
Gulf
Oil Corporation,
[9]
Alkema
J concluded at paragraph 32 of the judgment that ‘
The
issue, therefore, is whether the legal proceedings in this
application can be seen to have arisen within the area of
jurisdiction
of this court. The legal proceedings are based on facts
from which legal inferences may be drawn. These facts are often
referred
to as the ‘jurisdictional connecting factors’
and I will continue to use this description when referring to these
facts.’
At
par 38, he stated that ‘
a
court will have jurisdiction to grant an interdict if the
jurisdictional connecting facts supporting the requirements for an
interdict are present within its area of jurisdiction.
’
The learned judge went on to state at paras 62 and 63 of the judgment
that ‘
in
interdict proceedings a court will have jurisdiction if the
requirements for the grant of an interdict are satisfied by facts
within the territorial area of jurisdiction of that court. The next
step is to establish the facts supporting the three requirements
for
an interdict and then to establish whether or not those facts
originated or exist within the territorial jurisdiction of this
court
.’
13.
In
Road
Accident Fund v Legal Practise Council and Others
,
[10]
a Full Court in this division had occasion to consider a
jurisdictional challenge in respect of certain of the respondents who
resided outside the court’s area of jurisdiction and within the
area of jurisdiction of various other divisions of the High
Court.
Having embarked on an extensive analysis of the authorities, the
court concluded that where the relevant jurisdictional
connecting
factors are present within the seat of a division of the High court,
such court would be vested with jurisdiction apropos
those
respondents who are outside the territorial jurisdiction of the court
and that the court would not need, in such circumstances,
to consider
the principle of
causa
continentia.
[11]
14.
Although Mr R initially placed reliance on
the principle of
causa continentia
for a finding that this court has jurisdiction to determine the
issues between Mr R and Mr L in this application, this ground was
not
pursued at the hearing.
15.
As
pointed out in Zofuka
supra,
the
jurisdictional connecting factors are a matter of substantive law.
The three requirements for a final interdict are: (i) a clear
right;
and (ii) a threat to or a breach of such right; and (iii) the absence
of an adequate alternative remedy.
[12]
16.
The
applicant submits that all the jurisdictional connecting facts
pertaining to the grant of a final interdict arose within the
area of
jurisdiction of this court. I agree. Mr R, who lives and works within
the jurisdiction of this court in Gauteng,
inter
alia,
sought
to enforce his constitutionally guaranteed rights to dignity (which
includes reputation), privacy, freedom and safety, including
the
right to live free from harassment. These rights vest in Mr R where
he resides in Johannesburg, being within the jurisdiction
of this
court.
[13]
The alleged breach of Mr R’s rights took place in Gauteng where
Mr R (and other third parties to whom such electronic communications
were published) received the alleged insulting, derogatory, abusive
and defamatory emails of and concerning Mr R.
[14]
The alleged acts of harassment, which included threats of arrest and
imprisonment of Mr R, occurred in Gauteng, where complaints
of Mr R’s
alleged breach of an interim protection order (procured by Ms R
against Mr R in the Worcester Magistrates Court)
and that of criminal
conduct on the part of Mr R were laid by Ms R at the Parkview and
Midrand police stations respectively.
[15]
The legal proceedings by means of which Mr R is seeking to protect
his personality rights (which include rights to dignity, privacy
and
freedom) were instituted in Gauteng, where protection from a further
threat to and breach of those rights was sought to be
procured.
17.
In
his heads of argument, Mr L relied on the general rule enunciated in
Sciacero,
[16]
where
it was said that ‘
The
general rule with regard to the bringing of actions is actor sequitur
forum rei. The plaintiff ascertains where the defendant
resides, goes
to his forum and serves him with the summons there’.
What
this argument overlooks, however, is established law regarding
other
recognised grounds of jurisdiction, such as the principle of
causa
continentia
(now
entrenched in
s 21(2)
of the
Superior Courts Act)
[17
]
and that based on
causes
arising
within the area of the court’s jurisdiction (now entrenched in
s 21(1)
of the
Superior Courts Act.)
[18
]
At the hearing of the matter, counsel appearing for Mr L did not
pursue any serious challenge to the fact that that all the relevant
jurisdictional connecting factors in relation to the interdict/s
sought arose within this court’s jurisdiction. Instead,
relying
on
Bisonboard,
[19]
he
pursued the argument that the doctrine of effectiveness is not
satisfied in
casu.
18.
As
I understand the argument for Mr L, should Mr R wish to enforce any
court order granted in favour of Mr R in these proceedings
by means
of committal proceedings in the future, this court would lack the
jurisdiction to order such relief, as a court has no
jurisdiction to
order committal where the person is beyond the territorial limits of
the court. Reliance was placed on cases such
as
James
,
[20]
and
Di
Bona
,
[21]
for the proposition that no court has coercive jurisdiction beyond
its territorial limits and even within South Africa, the various
Provincial and Local Divisions of the Supreme court can only, by
virtue of special statutory authority enacted for the purpose,
order
the committal for contempt of Court of a person resident in the area
of jurisdiction of another Provincial or Local Division
in South
Africa.
19.
Mr
L’s argument aforesaid loses sight of the fact that the cases
relied on were decided prior to the advent of the
Superior Courts
Act. The
argument also ironically presupposes that any order granted
by this court would be disobeyed by Mr L in future and that such
disobedience,
if found to constitute contempt of court, would be
punished by means of committal to jail, a proposition that remains
entirely
speculative at this juncture. Moreover, in terms of
section
42(2)
of the
Superior Courts Act, the
civil process of a Division
runs throughout the Republic and may be served or executed within the
jurisdiction of any Division.
Any order which may be granted against
Mr L in this division will thus be executable against him in the
Western Cape where he resides.
[22]
20.
I accordingly find the jurisdictional
challenge lacks merit and falls to be dismissed.
21.
I now turn to the merits of the matter.
Backround
factual matrix
22.
Mr
R and Ms R occupied three matrimonial homes from time to time during
the subsistence of their marriage. All three homes are owned
by Mr
R.
[23]
The three matrimonial
homes are referred to in the urgent order, namely, the former
matrimonial home situated at 19 P [....]
Road, Westcliff
(
Westcliff),
a
farm known as L [....] Kraal in the T [....] district in the Karoo,
Western Cape (
L
[....] Kraal
)
and a property known as H [....] B [....], [....] M [....] R
[....], K [....], Midrand (
H
[....] B [....]
).
The H [....] B [....] residence is situated adjacent to a property
owned by Ms R in K [....], from which property she previously
(at
least prior to the advent of the covid pandemic) conducted a dog
hotel and pet rehabilitation business.
23.
Although it is not clear from the papers
when exactly the marriage between Mr and Ms R broke down
irretrievably, it seems fairly
clear that this would have occurred
prior to 30 April 2021, being a time when Mr R’s attorneys
first corresponded with Ms
R concerning the institution of divorce
proceedings.
24.
There is no dispute that Mr and Ms R have
not shared a residence, whether at Westcliff (save for the weekend of
12 June 2021), H
[....] B [....] or L [....] Kraal, since about 25
April 2021. Ms R had travelled between Cape Town, Touws Rivier
(Karoo) and Johannesburg
during 2021. According to Mr R, Ms R vacated
L [....] Kraal by her own choice on 5 May 2021 when she left the farm
with two loads
of her belongings. On 7 May 2021, three more loads of
Ms R’s personal belongings were delivered to her at a
neighbouring
farm. Thereafter arrangements were made between the
parties’ respective attorneys for her collection or the
delivery of any
of her remaining personal belongings on the farm. By
Mid-May 2021, Ms R had also removed several of her belongings from
the Westcliffe
home, leaving only a few rarely used items such as
evening clothes and jewellery in the safe at Westcliffe. It is
undisputed on
the papers that Mr L had assisted Ms R in removing
packed boxes containing her personal belongings from the Westcliffe
home during
May 2021. On 18 May 2021, the divorce summons was served
personally on Ms R in Johannesburg.
25.
Although
Ms R’s account of the circumstances under which she vacated the
farm on 5 May 2021 differs from that of Mr R,
[24]
the fact of her evacuation of the farm in May 2021 is not in dispute,
given that she did not again reside at the farm thereafter.
Indeed,
on 21 May 2021, Ms R’s attorney (Mr Chris Steyn) (
Mr
Steyn
)
addressed a letter to Ms C in which he requested that Ms R be allowed
to
visit
L
[....] Kraal to collect her remaining belongings.
[25]
26.
As earlier indicated, during the period 5
May 2021 until the grant of the urgent order on 13 June 2021, Mr L
had sent no less than
54 unsolicited emails, the majority of which
were addressed to Mr R and some of which were addressed to Ms C and
sent other persons.
Most, if not all, of the emails addressed to Mr R
were published,
inter alia
,
to Ms R, Mr Steyn and Ms C, and Mr L’s attorneys, who were
copied in on the various emails transmitted by Mr L. It is not
by
coincidence that Mr L sent his first email, addressed to Mr R and Ms
R’s respective attorneys (with Mr R and Ms R being
copied in on
the correspondence) on 5 May 2021, being the date on which Ms R
vacated L [....] Kraal, in which he stated: ‘
Hi
Chris, What surprises me is that one looks in Brakpan, Boksburg and
Benoni for cases of Woman Abuse, but never in Westcliff,
K [....] or
the Karoo…’.
27.
Emails
that followed thereafter escalated in frequency and
inter
alia
contained
profanities and insults directed against Mr R’s character,
reputation, integrity and dignity. The content of only
a few of the
emails deserve mention at this juncture.
[26]
On 13 May 2021, Mr L wrote: ‘…
jy
moet stadig gaan, jy fok nou met die verkeerde boer…eerstens,
ek kan nie verstaan dat jy met ‘n stukkie goud so
gemors
het…tweedens, jy gaan nie daarmee wegkom nie…noudat jy
my betrek het, is jou ‘kak-in-die-pos’,
ek is jou
nagmerrie…ons kan die pad stap…’.
Later
the same day, Mr L wrote
:
‘O…ek het vergeet om te noem…ek gaan jou ontbloot
vir wie and wat jy is…’.
On
14 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ‘
Dis
net die begin…jy het nie die geringste idee wat ek kan doen
nie…’.
On 15 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ‘
I
am considering bringing an application to have you disbarred as A
Lawyer for Woman Abuse…’.
On
16 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ‘ …
you
are a disgrace to the Legal Profession’.
On
20 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ‘…
what
a coward you are, clearly no guts
…’
On 20 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ‘…
jy
fok no met die verkeerde boer…jy het nie ‘n fokken idee
met wie jy te doen het nie – het jy - maar jy gaan
uitvind…’
On
20 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ‘…
ek
speel nou my koerant kaart…jy gaan soooo op die voorblad
beland
…’.
On 20 May 2021 Mr L wrote: ’…
From
Hero to Zero…that is where I intend to take you…yet
again, not a threat, but this time a commitment…’.
On
12 June Mr L wrote to Ms C
:
‘
…
Your
client has many problems coming his way, 1, He’s a liar, 2,
He’s a thief, 3, He’s a woman Abuser…As
T…’s
[a
reference Ms R] ‘
Benevolent
Protector’ I’ll be part of this till it’s over…O,
and kindly inform your client that she’s
not going to run out
of money to finance her case…’.
On
13 June 2021 Mr L wrote to Ms C: ‘…
Your
client is dodgy beyond note…I’ll go to L [....]
Kraal tomorrow and get the Original Protection order from
Nola, if
she won’t give it to me…I’ll get another
‘Original’ from Worcester on Monday…but
just so
you know, your client is now on ‘Speed-Dial’ at the
Police Station’.
Later,
on 13 June 2021, Mr L wrote: ‘
O…forgot
to mention…Legal Council
(sic)
Police,
Interim Protection Order, Police, SARS, Police, Newspapers,
Police…I’m having a ‘jol’…
’.
Again, on 13 June 2021, Mr L wrote to Ms C: ‘…
the
word
on
the street is that you client intends to bring a Defamation claim
against me and T…
[Ms
R] …
kindly
tell the little ‘japper’ to stop his shit, catch a wake
up, get another life…BULLY TIME IS SO OVER…O…forgot
to mention, the Police agree.’
28.
Mr
R, who had been staying at L [....] Kraal for some time, returned to
Johannesburg to take up residence at Westcliffe on 6 June
2021. Upon
leaving the farm, he requested his staff to lock the house and gates
and to ensure that no-one enters. This instruction
was given, says Mr
R, because Ms R had vacated L [....] Kraal and he believed that she
had no reason to return thereto.
[27]
On 7 and 8 June 2021, however, he was informed by members of staff
that Ms R had returned to L [....] Kraal, had unlocked the gates
with
keys obtained from the farm office and had gained entry to the
farmhouse through an open window. On this occasion, Ms R put
some of
her belongings into the closet in the main bedroom and switched off
certain of the security cameras, which, according to
Mr R, negatively
affected the security on the farm. Ms R did not return to the farm on
9 and 10 June 2021.
29.
As
early as 30 April 2021, Mr R (through his attorneys) proposed to Ms R
that she take up residence at H [....] B [....], given
that their
marriage had irretrievably broken down and divorce proceedings were
contemplated. In a letter addressed by Mr R’s
attorney to Ms
R’s attorney on 12 May 2021, Mr R again proposed that Ms R take
up residence at H [....] B [....] as an interim
arrangement.
[28]
Various letters followed upon this proposal with no meaningful
response received from Ms R’s attorneys concerning the
finalisation
of the parties’ interim living arrangements.
[29]
Instead, on 10 June 2021, Ms R sought and obtained an
ex
parte
interim domestic violence protection order (
IPO
)
against Mr R at the Worcester magistrate’s court. In terms
thereof, Mr R was ordered,
inter
alia,
not
to prevent Ms R from entering the shared matrimonial homes at L
[....] Kraal, H [....] B [....] and Westcliff. On 11 June 2021,
Ms R
returned to L [....] Kraal and left a copy of the court order with
one of the farm’s staff members, Ms Chungu. According
to Ms R,
she served the original IPO on Chungu, however, nothing turns on
this.
30.
On
10 June 2021, Mr Steyn emailed a copy of the IPO to Ms C, stating
that ‘
We
are aware that the protection order still has to be served on your
client but we expect him to abide thereby in the meantime.
’
[30]
In a further letter addressed by Mr Steyn to Ms C on 11 June 2021, Mr
Steyn acknowledged that the IPO had not been served in the
correct
way and further indicated that Ms R was on her way to Johannesburg
and that she would be moving into the Westcliff home
on 12 June 2021.
31.
On 12 June 2021, Mr R’s attorney (Ms
C) replied to Mr Steyn’s letter of 11 June 2021,
inter
alia
, indicating that:
“
2.
As you have acknowledged, the order has not yet been served on our
client. In terms of section 5(6) of
the Domestic Violence Act, 116 of
1998 (“the Act’) the order is of no force or effect until
it has been served in the
prescribed manner (on the respondent, by
the clerk of the court, a sheriff or a peace officer)…
…
8.
Furthermore, as is evident from the letters we have sent you (to
which you have failed to
respond), your client has never been barred
from entering any of our client's properties. Your client has vacated
the properties
of her own accord and the parties no longer cohabit,
and have not done so at the very latest since 23 April 2021.Your
client has
setup and has been occupying alternative accommodation in
the Karoo. In any event, our client has made the eminently reasonable
proposal that, pendente lite, she resides in the K [....] property.
This property comprises a very comfortably appointed main house
with
two en suite bedrooms, two fully appointed kitchens, dining room,
lounge, study and ample outdoor entertainment areas and
gardens.
There is also a luxurious one bedroom en suite cottage with a lounge
and dining area, comfortably furnished and appointed.
It would
appear, however, that for no other reason than to be provocative,
your client insists on returning to the Westcliff property,
notwithstanding that:
8.1
There is a luxurious alternative available to her;
8.2
Our client is in residence in Westcliff;
8.3
She and Loots, acting with common purpose, have relentlessly
harassed, provoked and threatened our client, making the resumption
of cohabitation between your client and ours utterly intolerable.
…
9.
We have addressed you on a number of occasions about reasonable
interim arrangements, but
you have failed to respond meaningfully or
to engage with us.
…
11.
In that the application and order have not yet been served on our
client, the order is of no force and effect.
However, our client has
not committed and will not commit any act of domestic violence
against your client, and nor will he —
without an order of the
court — prevent her from entering the Westcliff property.
However, he will put in place practical,
sensible and reasonable
arrangements until such time as further agreement is reached or a
court order has been granted. Specifically,
our client will continue
to occupy the main bedroom suite, and your client will have access to
the west wing of the house, comprising
a downstairs en suite bedroom
and dressing room (private and exclusive), the kitchen
(non-exclusive) and the western verandah.
This is where her remaining
belongings are stored (in that, as previously recorded, she has
already removed the bulk of her belongings).
…
13.
We require your URGENT WRITTEN UNDERTAKING, before 15h00 today —
in light of the above undertaking from
our client and the sensible
arrangements he has put in place - that your client will not attempt
to cause the police to have him
arrested (which would be unlawful and
would constitute malicious prosecution for which she will face the
consequences), or to solicit
the assistance of anyone else (including
but not limited to L [a reference to Mr L]) to do so, and that she
will in fact not engage
our client in any manner whatsoever for so
long as she insists on staying in the Westcliff property. …”
32.
On 12 June 2021 Mr Steyn replied to the
above letter, indicating,
inter alia
,
that the IPO would be served on Mr R ‘ASAP’ and that Ms R
was ‘not comfortable’ to stay in the K [....]
property
due to a lack of proper security.’
33.
Upon
her arrival at Westcliff on 12 June 2021, according to Ms R, her gate
remote was not working and no-one opened when she rang
the bell. As
she could not gain entry, she drove to the Parkview police station to
enforce the IPO which she steadfastly maintains
was valid and
enforceable. She returned to Westcliff accompanied by the police. On
her return, Andre (Mr R’s brother) opened
the gate and informed
the police that she had not been locked out. A staff member later
handed her a new programmed remote. She
went into the main bedroom to
see if any of her belongings were there but found that they had been
placed in a guest room downstairs.
Mr R was not present at the
property when this occurred.
34.
At
the time, Mr R’s brother and his wife were house guests at
Westcliff. They were occupying an upstairs guest bedroom. It
is
common cause on the papers that Ms R removed their luggage and
belongings from the upstairs guest room and deposited same in
the
downstairs guest room without as much as discussing this with either
Mr R or his relatives, whether beforehand or at all.
35.
Later
that evening, members of the South African Police force attended at
the property on two further occasions. According to Ms
R, she did not
summon them or have any discussions with Mr R that evening.
36.
In
the meanwhile, Mr R had received an email from Mr L in which he
threatened that Mr R would be arrested. The email reads, in relevant
part, as follows: “…
Time
to grow up and smell the roses… T…
[Ms
R]
just
now got to Westcliff and was Locked Out…She’s at the
Police Station as I write to exercise her Rights…Enjoy
your
night in jail…’
37.
According
to Mr R, he was present when the police arrived at 19h25 for the
second time at Westcliff on 12 June 2021. The police
mentioned to him
that they had been informed that the IPO had been served on Mr R. The
police arrived at Westcliff for the third
time at 24h00 that evening.
On this occasion, Mr R heard Ms R telling the police that Mr R is a
bully and that she felt unsafe.
Prior thereto, Mr R had retired to
his bedroom and had locked the security gate located outside his
bedroom. Ms R denies she told
the police that Mr R was a bully or
that she felt unsafe in the home and maintained that she did not know
why the police had arrived
for the second and third time on 12 June
2021. Be that as it may, Mr L sent an email to Ms C thereafter in
which he stated,
inter
alia.
that: ‘…
T
[Ms R]
has
been locked out of her Matrimonial bedroom’…fuck, when
is this shit going to end, has your client no pride, is
he going to
ride this into the gutter…looks like it
.’
A further email from Mr L addressed to Ms C followed, wherein Mr L
stated: ‘…
your
client is soooo out of control…he has now locked T
[Ms
R]
out
of the ‘Marital Bedroom’ at Westcliff…I have
informed the Police and they are on their way to assist…’
Ms
C replied stating
:‘
…Are you seriously suggesting that J
[Mr R]
move
out the bedroom he lives in so that T
[Ms R]
can
move into it? This conduct is malicious and vexatious in the extreme,
and you are cautioned in the strongest terms to cease
harassing my
client…’.
Mr
L in turn replied, stating: ‘
No,
T
[Ms
R]
is
happy to live in the same bedroom and sleep in the same bed with him
until this matter is settled.
Ms
R, her attorneys, Mr R’s attorneys and Mr L’s attorneys
were all copied in on all the above emails.
[31]
38.
On 13 June 2021, Mr L addressed an email to
Ms R, which he also sent to Mr R’s attorneys, Ms R’s
attorneys and Mr L’s
attorneys, in which he stated: ‘
He
[Mr R]
can
Huff & Puff, he'll get nowhere, it's your Matrimonial Home and
you have all the right to contact the Police and let them
in when you
feel threatened .... he's all bark, no bite, as all small fat dogs
are as a rule ....if you ever feel threatened in
the future you phone
the Police again, again and again .... I spoke to the Police late
last night and early this morning and they
confirmed they'll keep a
close eye on you whilst at Westcliff, and the Police in Touwsriver
assured me they will do the same when
you at L [....] Kraal
.... it's time he learns the world at large is bigger than
[Mr R]
....
matter of fact he is a mere irritation, similar to a bug on your
windscreen
...’
39.
Fearing that he could at any moment find
himself in the police cells and/or maliciously defamed in the media,
social media or to
his friends and colleagues, a situation which Mr R
alleged in his founding affidavit was intolerable to him, he
approached the
urgent court for relief and was granted interim relief
per the urgent order. He alleged in his founding papers that he was
exhausted
by the harassment to which he had been subjected and that
he was in ‘serious fear’ for his safety as a result of Mr
L’s behaviour, aided and abetted by Ms R, and their quest to
have him arrested on ‘spurious’ grounds. He also
alleged
that
Mr L’s
emails, which contained threats, gross verbal abuse and defamation
(directed towards Mr R) had continued despite his
attorneys having
called upon Mr L to cease contacting Mr R or threatening or defaming
him.
40.
Since the breakdown of the marriage between
Mr R and Ms R, various legal proceedings have been instituted between
the parties to
the present matter. These include:
40.1.
A divorce action – instituted by Mr R
against Ms R, which is pending;
40.2.
An application for an interim protection
order in the Worcester Magistrates court – instituted by Ms R
against Mr R, which
was subsequently withdrawn or set aside;
40.3.
A criminal case involving the alleged theft
of documents by Mr R – initiated by of a complaint made by Ms R
against Mr R,
which was subsequently
nolle
prosequied;
40.4.
An application for a protection order in
the Johannesburg Magistrates Court – brought by Ms R on behalf
of her mother (Mrs
S) against Mr R, which was dismissed with punitive
costs, which Ms R is seeking leave to appeal, which application is
pending;
40.5.
An application for a protection order in
the Randburg Magistrates Court –brought by Ms R against Mr R,
which was dismissed,
with no order as to costs;
40.6.
An urgent application in the High Court,
Johannesburg for interdictory relief against the respondents –
brought by Mr R against
Ms R and Mr L, which is pending the outcome
of the present matter;
40.7.
An urgent contempt of court application
against Mr L – brought by Mr R on 14 June 2021, which was
dismissed with no order
as to costs;
40.8.
An urgent contempt of court application
against Mr L – brought by Mr R, with Mr L being found guilty of
contempt of court
and sanctioned by means of the imposition of a fine
as well as a suspended sentence of incarceration, with punitive costs
awarded
in favour of Mr R (
the contempt
order
);
40.9.
An application for leave to appeal against
the contempt order – brought by Mr L, which was dismissed by
the court
a quo
with costs, followed by Mr L’s petition to the Supreme Court of
Appeal, in respect of which the Supreme Court of Appeal granted
Mr L
leave to appeal para 4 of the contempt order to the Full Court of
this division, (para 4 related to a fine of R70,000.00 imposed
against Mr L by the court
a quo
).
Discussion
Interdict
against Mr L and Ms R – para 2.1 of urgent order
41.
The final interdict sought in sub-paras
2.1.1 to 2.1.5 is to restrain Ms R and Mr L from:
(i)
Making unsolicited contact
with Mr R
without
lawful cause
, whether in person,
telephonically, in writing including electronically or on social
media platforms;
(ii)
Publishing any communications
(including electronic communications) about Mr R
containing allegations and/or
insinuations of alleged personal, professional or fiscal impropriety
;
(iii)
Making
any
communication
, whether written,
telephonic or in person
that threatens,
insults and/or seeks to undermine or harm Mr R’s reputation and
dignity
;
(iv)
Making
attempts
to have Mr R arrested without good cause or threatening to do so
;
(v)
Harassing, threatening, intimidating or
verbally or physically abusing
Mr R.
42.
Whilst Ms R did not herself write or send
the 54 emails alluded to above, Mr R alleges that she acted in
concert and/or made common
purpose with Mr L in a ‘campaign of
unrelenting harassment, intimidation and defamation’ waged
against him. Both Ms
R and Mr L have denied in their respective
answering affidavits that Ms R was acting in concert or that she made
common purpose
with Mr L in addressing and publishing the electronic
communications
43.
Mr
L states that he addressed the correspondence to Mr R and/or his
attorneys of his own accord, in retaliation to ‘intimidating
tactics’ levelled By Mr R against himself and Ms R; and because
of allegations that he (Mr L) was having an affair with Ms
R; and
because he was branded as ‘unstable’
[32]
and because of alleged ‘bullying tactics’ levelled by Mr
R against Ms R. He admits sending correspondence threatening
to
expose Mr R for who he (Mr L) thinks Mr R is, but states that he has
not approached any of Mr R’s clients, business associates
or
third parties with the intention of defaming Mr R. As regards
attempts to get Mr R arrested, Mr L avers that ‘good cause
existed, as according to information provided to him by’ Ms R,
Mr R’s conduct amounted to a breach of the IPO. He interacted
with the SAPS ‘to assist’ Ms R in enforcing the IPO,
which he ‘believed’ Mr R did not adhere to.
44.
The
alleged acts of intimidation relied on by Mr L in his answering
affidavit relate to: (i) one occasion when Mr R’s brother
visited Mr L at his farm and (ii) a single email addressed by Mr R to
Mr L on 20 May 2021
[33]
and
(iii) an exchange between Mr R and Mr L that occurred in July
2020.
[34]
As to the first
alleged act of intimidation, Mr L relies on an email sent by him to
Mr R on 20 May 2021, wherein the following
was said:
“…
Your
effort At Intimidation Failed Dismally .... I place on record that
your brother, Dion, accompanied by another burly chap, paid
me a
visit earlier ...needless to say, you were Missing ln Action, proves
what a coward you are, clearly no guts ... Dion said
you sent him to
find out if I intend to harm you physically ... I pointed out to him
that I have never threatened you with physical
harm, as it is not my
nature and I do not have a history of violent or abuse, physical or
verbal, but if any of you set foot on
my land against I'm prepared to
learn .... this is not a threat, merely a statement ... stay off my
land and away from me, you
and all your followers ... or take the
consequences .... next time I won’t be so nice ....0 ....
interesting what your Boet
calls you, starts with a "P"
....”
[35]
and
“
0
... I forgot to mention .... The reason I invited your Boet into my
study, muddy boots and all, is because all conversations in
my study
gets taped, the recorder is voice activated, so he mustn't try and
deny anything he said ...”
[36]
45.
As to the first and second alleged acts of
intimidation, the correspondence relied on by Mr L does not bear out
his perceived conclusions
of intimidation by Mr R. As to the third
alleged act of intimidation, the context in which the exchange
occurred pursuant to which
Mr R’s letter of 5 July 2020 was
written, is fully explained in his replying affidavit, which
effectively refutes the conclusion
drawn by Mr L in his answering
affidavit. The incident in any event occurred a year prior to the
urgent application and does not
advance the case for Mr L. In my
view, any belief on the part of Mr L of perceived misconduct on the
part of Mr R towards Ms R
cannot and does not justify or excuse his
unlawful conduct in this matter.
46.
The emails which were admittedly addressed
and sent by Mr L contained various threats,
inter
alia,
to expose Mr R for alleged
wrongdoing; to destroy his professional and personal reputation; to
have Mr R struck from the roll of
legal practitioners; to report Mr R
to SARS for alleged fiscal irregularity; to have Mr R arrested with
threats of incarceration
and deprivation of Mr R’s liberty; to
publish untested allegations about Mr R in the media; and generalised
threats of ill
that would befall Mr R.
47.
That
the content of Mr L’s emails was insulting, abusive and
derogatory, if not
per
se
defamatory,
[37]
having regard
to the natural and ordinary meaning which the words used would have
conveyed to the ordinary reasonable reader reading
same, permits of
no dispute. The emails speak for themselves. Referring to a human
being as
inter
alia,
a
liar, thief, woman abuser, ‘dodgy beyond note’ implies
that the person is involved in criminal conduct or is unethical,
dishonest and cannot be trusted. Referring to a person as,
inter
alia
,
a ‘japper’, a ‘fat dog’, an ‘irritation’
akin to a ‘bug on your windscreen’ and
someone whose DNA
would reflect as ‘genetic waste’, at the very least
implies that the person is not worthy of being
accorded the basic
right of dignity deserving of any human being. Significantly, no
evidential proof of the truth of the allegations
made by Mr L in the
emails was adduced by him in his answering papers. Viewed as a whole,
the words used by Mr L impugned the dignity,
reputation and integrity
of Mr R and were designed to do so and to injure or inflict harm upon
Mr R. They point to unconscionable
conduct on the part of Mr L, who
failed to provide any factual foundation for his subjective
conclusions. The communications were
unwanted, as was made clear in
correspondence addressed to Mr L’s attorneys on 14 May
2021,
[38]
notwithstanding
which the communications continued unabated. In my view, such conduct
amounts to harassment
[39]
and
an infringement of Mr R’s rights to privacy, a sense of safety,
dignity and reputation.
48.
The question to be answered is whether Ms R
was complicit in the sending of these emails or made common purpose
with Mr L in making
and publishing such communications. Mr R avers
that she was. Ms R denied that she was, as did Mr L in their
answering papers.
49.
In
deciding this question, the following undisputed facts are relevant.
On Mr L’s own version, he sent the emails in question
upon a
perceived violation by Mr R of Ms R’s rights, based on
information conveyed to him by Ms R. In several of these
communications,
which were copied to Ms R’s email address, Mr L
portends to speak for an on her behalf.
[40]
This occurred to her knowledge, yet Ms R allowed this to continue for
several weeks without distancing herself from such communications
or
protesting against the role assumed by Mr L or the manner in which he
did so, despite being invited by Mr R’s attorneys
to do so. Ms
R informed Mr L of events as they were unfolding,
[41]
providing Mr L with photographs and other information pertaining to
issues between herself and Mr R, which enabled Mr L to disseminate
communications on the subject matter at hand. Incidentally, Ms R also
appears to have disclosed correspondence between her attorneys
and Mr
R’s attorneys to Mr L, which precipitated further
communications by Mr L to Mr R.
[42]
Significantly, Mr L recorded that he will remain involved in the
issues between Mr R and Ms R until the end of the divorce action.
[43]
During the weekend of 12 and 13 June 2021, Ms R continued to
communicate with Mr L, which communications either foreshadowed or
commented on events as they unfolded, thus actively enabling Mr L to
use such information to continue to harass Mr R, undermine
his
dignity, threaten his freedom and in so doing cause him harm. On each
occasion, Ms R was copied in on such communications.
[44]
50.
Prior to the launch of the urgent
application, on 24 May 2021, Ms C addressed a letter to Ms R’s
attorneys in which she indicated
that:
‘
Your
client has not dissociated herself from the numerous threats made by
[Mr L], which are copied to your client and which to some
degree
purport to be sent on her behalf and/or in her interests by [Mr L] as
some sort of benevolent protector. Our client can
only conclude,
therefore, that your client makes common cause with the threats and
intimidation, and as a result, he is not willing
to allow her back on
the farm.
[45]
51.
This
letter evoked no response from Ms R or her attorneys until 17 June
2021 ( i.e., after the urgent order was granted) when Ms
R baldly
denied acting in concert with Mr L,
[46]
notwithstanding that Mr L had expressed views and had taken up a
position that included Ms R in his communications.
52.
The
question arises as to whether or not Ms R’s bald denials are
such as to raise a genuine dispute of fact on this issue.
The
method for resolving disputes of fact in motion proceedings has been
laid down in
Plascon-Evans.
[47]
53.
In
Mtolo,
[48]
the
Constitutional court endorsed what was said by the Supreme Court of
Appeal in
Buffalo
Freight Systems (Pty) Ltd v Crestleigh Trading (Pty) Ltd
2011
(1) SA 8
(SCA),
par 19:, where the following was said:
“
[I]n
Truth
Verification Testing Centre CC v PSE Truth Detection CC
1998
(2) SA 689
(W)
Eloff AJ stated at 698H-J:
‘
I
am also mindful of the fact that the so-called “robust,
common-sense approach” which was adopted in cases such as
Soffiantini
v Mould
1956
(4) SA 150
(E)
in relation to the resolution of disputed issues on paper usually
relates to a situation where a respondent contents himself
with bald
and hollow denials of factual matter confronting him. There is,
however, no reason in logic why it should not be applied
in assessing
a detailed version which is wholly fanciful and untenable.’
I
respectfully agree. The court should be prepared to undertake an
objective analysis of such disputes when required to do so.”
54.
In
Wightman
t/a JW Construction v Headfour (Pty) Ltd and Another
[2008] ZASCA 6
;
2008
(3) SA 371
(SCA),
para 13,
Heher
JA held as follows:
‘
A
real, genuine and
bona
fide
dispute
of fact can exist only where the court is satisfied that the party
who purports to raise the dispute has in his affidavit
seriously and
unambiguously addressed the fact said to be disputed
.
There will of course be instances where a bare denial meets the
requirement because there is no other way open to the disputing
party
and nothing more can therefore be expected of him. But even that may
not be sufficient
if
the fact averred lies purely within the knowledge of the averring
party and no basis is laid for disputing the veracity or accuracy
of
the averment. When the facts averred are such that the disputing
party must necessarily possess knowledge of them and be able
to
provide an answer (or countervailing evidence) if they be not true or
accurate but, instead of doing so, rests his case on a
bare or
ambiguous denial the court will generally have difficulty in finding
that the test is satisfied.’ (Own emphasis)
55.
At no stage did Ms R state that Mr L was
not authorised by her to speak on her behalf or that his views did
not represent her views.
Ms R was specifically called upon on to
disassociate herself with the conduct of Mr L in correspondence
addressed to her attorneys
by Mr R’s erstwhile attorneys, which
she chose not do either proactively, seriously or substantively. A
bare denial does
not suffice in the circumstances. If Ms R did not
agree with the content of Mr L’s disparaging communications or
if she did
not align herself with his views or agree with his
methods, one would have expected her to have said so specifically and
unequivocally.
One would also have expected her to stop feeding Mr L
with information that he, to her knowledge, continued to utilise as a
weapon
with which to continue to attack the character of Mr R and to
harass, intimidate insult, threaten and verbally abuse Mr R. The
inference is inescapable that she joined forces against Mr R with a
common purpose to harass, intimidate, verbally abuse and undermine
Mr
R’s dignity with defamatory utterances, and not least of all,
to try and procure, with the assistance of Mr L, the arrest
of Mr R
over the weekend preceding the grant of the urgent order.
56.
As
regards the attempts by Ms R and Mr L to secure the arrest of Mr R on
12 June 2021, the papers illustrate that Ms R proceeded
to lay
charges against Mr R at the Parkview Police station, spurred on by Mr
L, on grounds that Mr R had allegedly breached the
terms of the IPO,
this, after she did not manage to gain immediate access to the
Westcliff property upon her arrival thereat. She
seemingly
immediately jumped to the conclusion that she was deliberately being
prevented from entering the property without as
much as a phone call
to Mr R to enquire as to why the gate would not open or a staff
member was not answering his phone immediately.
This, in
circumstances where her own attorneys had previously conceded in
their correspondence that the IPO had not yet been served
on Mr R and
had also not been correctly served, in consequence whereof the order
was simply not enforceable at that juncture. This
is because in terms
of
s 5(6)
of the
Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998
, ‘
An
interim protection order shall have no force and effect until it has
been served on the respondent.’
[49]
Ms R does not contend
that she was
not
in
fact informed of the prevailing legal position by her attorneys, nor
does she explain in her answering papers why and on what
basis she
could thus possibly have ‘believed’ that the order was of
full force and effect, given that her attorneys
would at all material
times have been acting on her instructions. It bears mention that at
no stage preceding the grant of the
urgent order or thereafter did Ms
R attempt to serve the IPO on Mr R, as was required for it to have
force and effect. The unexplained
wrong belief under which Ms R or Mr
L were labouring, is simply not defensible on the facts and falls to
be rejected as untenable.
After all, Mr R was expecting her to arrive
at Westcliff on 12 June 2021, as borne out by the correspondence
which passed between
the parties’ attorneys preceding Ms R’s
arrival at Westcliff. Mr R had also specifically made arrangements
for Ms R
to occupy the downstairs west wing of the residence in order
to maintain a practical distance between them, so as to avoid
unpleasantness
or strife during her stay. Mr R had also made it plain
in correspondence addressed to Ms R’s attorneys that Ms R would
not
be prevented from gaining entry to the property. Given these
circumstances, there would have been no reason for Mr R to have
prevented
Ms R from accessing the premises.
57.
The facts point to the conclusion that Mr L
was being fed with one-sided information from Ms R upon her arrival
and during the period
of her stay at Westcliff prior to the grant of
the urgent order. On his own version, Mr L believed that Mr R had
breached the terms
of the IPO based on information supplied to him by
Ms R, hence his involvement in the matter by speaking to the SAPS on
her behalf
thereafter. As a result of his interventions, the SAPS
arrived at Westcliff on two further occasions during the evening of
12 June
2021. Mr R says he was worn out and traumatised by all of
this, plagued by a constant fear of arrest because of false
accusations
and complaints made by Ms R and Mr L to the SAPS without
just cause. Ultimately, they were seeking to enforce an unenforceable
order on the supposition that Ms R was denied entry to Westcliff or
was unsafe during her stay there, where the objective facts
did not
support such conclusions. This vindictive conduct was the proverbial
final straw that prompted him to launch the urgent
application.
58.
The
version of Ms R and Mr L s must also be viewed in the light of the
fact that Ms R had been forewarned on 12 June 2021 (prior
to Ms R’s
arrival at Westcliff) that Ms R
and
Mr L were considered to be acting with a common purpose in
relentlessly harassing, provoking and threatening Mr R, making the
resumption of cohabitation between Mr R and Ms R ‘utterly
intolerable’.
[50]
In the
same letter of 12 June 2021, a written undertaking was sought from Ms
R, namely, that ‘…
in
light of the above undertaking from our client and the sensible
arrangements he has put in place - that your client will not
attempt
to cause the police to have him arrested (which would be unlawful and
would constitute malicious prosecution for which
she will face the
consequences), or to solicit the assistance of anyone else (including
but not limited to [Mr L]) to do so, and
that she will in fact not
engage our client in any manner whatsoever for so long as she insists
on staying in the Westcliff property’.
The
undertaking sought was not provided.
59.
For these reasons, I conclude that Ms R and
Mr L’s denials about their complicity do not create a genuine
dispute of fact.
On this issue, Mr’s R’s version, namely,
that Ms R and Mr L joined forces against Mr R and acted in concert or
with
a common purpose
inter alia
to harass, intimidate, abuse and attempt to procure the arrest of Mr
R, should be accepted as correct.
60.
After the grant of the urgent order, Ms R
attempted again to procure the arrest of Mr R by laying a criminal
complaint of theft
against Mr R at the Midrand police station. She
alleged that Mr R had stolen what certain files or documents
belonging to her from
the H [....] B [....] property, where she took
up residence pursuant to the urgent order. Mr R denied stealing the
documents, contending
that he had only removed company documents
belonging to him from his office situated on the property. In so far
as he may have
inadvertently removed documents belonging to Ms R, he
invited Ms R to identify which of her alleged documents were missing,
whereupon
such documents would be returned. This invitation met with
no response from Ms R, rather, she upped the ante in pursuing
criminal
charges against Mr R and desiring his arrest. Ultimately,
the State declined to prosecute, issuing a certificate of
nolle
prosequi,
thereby signifying that the
charges were unsustainable. By that time, however, Mr R had been
compelled to expend money, time, effort
and energy in defending his
honour. The entire matter could more appropriately have been resolved
in line with the majestic principle
of
Ubuntu,
had Ms R simply co-operated with Mr R
by identifying which documents allegedly belonging to her she
required be returned to her.
61.
I am inclined to agree with the submission
of counsel for Mr R that the conduct of the respondents, acting in
concert, constitutes
to a threat to as well as a violation of Mr R’s
constitutionally entrenched fundamental human rights that include his
rights
to freedom, dignity, reputation and good name, as well as an
unlawful invasion of his privacy. Their conduct further constitutes
harassment, as earlier mentioned.
62.
As
pointed out in Mr R’s heads of argument, our Constitution
provides that our democratic state is founded on
inter
alia
human dignity, the advancement of human rights and freedoms and the
supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.
[51]
In terms of s 10 of the Constitution, everybody, including Mr R, has
inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected
and
protected. The provisions of section 12 of the Constitution make it
abundantly clear that everyone has a right to freedom and
security of
the person,
[52]
which includes
the right not to be deprived of freedom arbitrarily without a just
cause. It is trite that the right to dignity,
which includes the
right to a good reputation (
fama
)
is a fundamental human right and any infringement thereon is unlawful
and will not be countenanced.
[53]
63.
An
infringement against a person’s dignity not a trivial
matter.
[54]
Mr R describes
himself as a senior practising attorney who has built up an
unimpeachable reputation of integrity over the course
of his career.
In
Chetty,
[55]
the
court stated that ‘impugning the good name of an attorney
remains a serious matter. The most valuable assets that a legal
practitioner possesses are repute and integrity. Once either is lost,
it is seldom recovered.’ As the saying goes:
“
Words
are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them
back than ignore the mess they leave when they fall
.”
[56]
64.
In paragraph 59 of the founding affidavit,
the contents of certain emails that were sent by Mr L are set out. In
paragraph 60 of
the founding affidavit, Mr R avers that ‘
Manifestly
,
[Mr L’s]
emails
constitute threats, gross verbal abuse and defamation (directed
towards both me and my attorney), all of which is evident
from Bundle
C annexed hereto. This has continued despite my attorneys writing
three letters to
[Mr L’s]
attorneys
calling upon him to cease contacting me, threatening me and defaming
me. Copies of letters appear in Bundle "D"
hereto.
’
65.
Ms R’s response to these paragraphs
in her answering affidavit is telling. She merely denied that she is
intent on having
Mr R arrested and averred that she had disassociated
herself with the
alleged
harassment
by
Mr L, referring in this regard to her attorney’s letter of 17
June 2021 addressed to Ms C after the grant of the urgent
order. In
that letter, her attorney recorded that “
Also,
where you refer to
[Mr L]
our
client denies that she ‘seems to have relished it and made
common purpose with him.’”
As
can be gleaned from what Ms R said in her answering affidavit, she
did not acknowledge that Mr L’s conduct indeed constituted
harassment, nor did she acknowledge that Mr L’s conduct was
wrongful or unlawful.
Which
conduct on the part of Mr L that she purported to disassociate
herself with, is simply not understood. Her professed disassociation
is at worst contrived and at best meaningless under the
circumstances.
66.
Mr L’s response to these paragraphs
in his answering affidavit is equally telling - he did not deal with
paragraphs 59 and
60 of the founding affidavit at all in his
answering affidavit. In paras 13 to 15 of his answering affidavit, he
maintains that
he was justified in sending the communications
in
retaliation to (i) Mr R’s alleged 'attempt to intimidate' him;
(ii) because of allegations levelled against him of having
an affair
with Ms R; and (iii) because of alleged 'bullying tactics' levelled
by Mr R against Ms R but which tactics were not specified
by him. Mr
L also maintained that good cause existed to have Mr R arrested;
however, as indicated earlier, the evidence does not
support such
conclusion. Mr L further contended that his conduct was motivated by
his decision to render emotional assistance to
Ms R as he deemed Mr
R’s conduct towards her as inappropriate. Yet none of his
communications appear to have advanced the
interests of Ms R, on the
contrary, they were directed at violating Mr R’s fundamental
human rights.
67.
To
succeed with a claim for a final interdict, Mr R is required to
prove: (i) a clear right, being a legal right to be protected
against
infringement; (ii) infringement of the clear right, which includes an
injury actually committed or a reasonable apprehension
of such
infringement; and (iii) the lack of an adequate alternate remedy.
[57]
68.
As regards the relief set out in para 2.1
of the urgent order, I am persuaded that Mr R has established a clear
right not to be
subjected to a campaign of unrelenting harassment,
verbal abuse, intimidation, ongoing insults, threats of
incarceration, threats
of defamation, defamatory utterances, threats
of arrest or attempts to have him arrested without just cause. As set
out earlier,
Mr R has both constitutional and common law rights to
live free from harassment, threats of harm, intimidation and verbal
abuse.
He is also entitled to live free from the fear of being
deprived of his liberty without just cause. As regards the other
requirements
for final relief, these are discussed later in the
judgment.
Relief
against Ms R in para 2.2 of the urgent order (occupation of former
matrimonial homes)
69.
The evidence put up by Mr R shows that he
attempted in a dignified manner to reach an agreement with Ms R
concerning future interim
living arrangements, given that their
marriage had irretrievably broken down, as a result whereof
co-habitation between them was
no longer viable
.
The evidence surrounding Ms R’s
vacation of L [....] Kraal in early May 2021 and the events
that preceded the grant
of the urgent order point to the fact that Mr
R and Ms R were not on speaking terms at all over this period or
thereafter
.
They
communicated only through their attorneys. I have earlier described
how Ms R reacted to invitations to agree to alternate accommodation
arrangements. She attempted to re-establish a presence at L [....]
Kraal by climbing through a window and depositing some of her
clothing in the main bedroom closet. She then obtained the IPO
interdicting Mr R from denying her access to any of the shared
matrimonial homes. This was followed by her attempt to re-establish
her occupation of the Westcliff property, when on 11 June 2021,
her
attorney informed Mr R’s attorney that she would be
moving
into
the Westcliff house the following
day. Thereafter, Mr L informed Mr R that Ms R was happy to live in
the same bedroom and sleep
in the same bed with Mr R at Westcliff.
70.
The
unrefuted evidence is that H [....] B [....] is an up-market
luxurious equestrian estate, worth approximately R10 Million. There
is nothing to suggest that Ms R had not gladly occupied this home
during happier times in the marriage. H [....] B [....] is equipped
with grand security, is spacious and has a fully furnished separate
cottage which Ms R’s mother could occupy, if she chose
to do
so. By the time this application was heard, Mr R had accommodated all
of Ms R’s numerous requests to upgrade the security
at H [....]
B [....], including
inter
alia
installing a generator to ensure an ongoing supply of electricity,
reinstating security lights and more.
[58]
On 23 June 2021,
[59]
Mr R
tendered to attend to any additional concerns and to pay the
reasonable costs associated therewith.
71.
The orders
contained in sub-paragraphs 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 of the urgent order are
tantamount to eviction orders apropos the Westcliff
and L [....]
Kraal matrimonial homes.
72.
In
Cattle
Breeders,
[60]
the
court endorsed what was said by
Lord
Upjohn in the case of
National
Provincial Bank, Ltd. v. Ainsworth,
[1965]
UKHL 1
;
(1965)
2 All E.R. 472
at p. 485:
“
A
wife does not remain lawfully in the matrimonial home by leave or
licence of her husband as the owner of the property. She remains
there because, as a result of the status of marriage, it is her right
and duty so to do and, if her husband fails in his duty to
remain
there, that cannot affect her right to do so. She is not a
trespasser, she is not a licensee of her husband, she is lawfully
there as a wife, the situation is one
sui
generic
.”
73.
I
n
Cattle
Breeders
the court recognized that a spouse occupying a matrimonial home may
be ejected from the matrimonial home provided that she is offered
‘suitable alternative accommodation’ or ‘a means of
acquiring such suitable accommodation’. The court held
at 292:
‘
A
long line of cases seem to have laid down the proposition that even
if the husband may be the defaulting party he may eject the
wife from
the matrimonial home, provided he offers her suitable alternative
accommodation or offers her the means of acquiring
such suitable
accommodation.’
74.
Our
courts have also recognized the right of one spouse to obtain the
eviction of the other is where co-habitation is undesirable.
[61]
Ultimately the court retains a discretion to grant such an order,
having regard to all the facts and circumstances.
[62]
75.
Ms R’s version is simply that she was
acting within her rights by seeking co-habitation at Westcliff upon
her return to Johannesburg
from the Karoo on 12 June 2021, contending
in paragraph 21.11 that Mr R had no right to evict her therefrom. For
Ms R, it was submitted
that she should not be finally evicted from
the Westcliff and Touws Rivier homes because: (i) her elderly mother
still resides
in a garden cottage on the Westcliff property and she
needs to visit her mother; (ii) The Touws Rivier home, with its bed
and breakfast,
stabling and olive oil businesses, is subject to a
counterclaim brought by Ms R in the divorce proceedings and she has
an interest
in these businesses which require upkeep and maintenance;
and (iii) she has a
sui generis
right to occupy all matrimonial homes, including the K [....]
property, pending finalisation of the divorce and thus does not
require any authorisation from court to occupy the K [....] property.
76.
Mr R’s version is encapsulated in his
attorneys’ letter of 12 June 2021, addressed to Ms R’s
attorneys, where
the following was said:
“
8.
Furthermore, as is evident from the letters we have sent you (to
which you have failed to respond),
your
client has never been barred from entering any of our client's
properties
.
Your client has vacated the properties of her own accord and
the
parties no longer cohabit
,
and have not done so at the very latest since 23 April 2021. Your
client has set up and has been occupying alternative accommodation
in
the Karoo. In any event, our client has made the eminently reasonable
proposal that, pendente lite, she resides in the K [....]
property.
This property comprises a very comfortably appointed main house with
two en suite bedrooms, two fully appointed kitchens,
dining room,
lounge, study and ample outdoor entertainment areas and gardens.
There is also a luxurious one bedroom en suite cottage
with a lounge
and dining area, comfortably furnished and appointed.
It
would appear, however, that for no other reason than to be
provocative, your client insists on returning to the Westcliff
property
,
notwithstanding
that
:
8.
I There is a luxurious alternative available to her;
8.2
Our client is in residence in Westcliff;
8.3
She
and
[Mr
L],
acting
with common purpose, have relentlessly harassed, provoked and
threatened our client, making the resumption of cohabitation
between
your client and ours utterly intolerable
.
”
(own emphasis)
77.
On
behalf of Mr R, it was submitted that the following facts militate
against a resumption of co-habitation between the parties
at
Westcliff or L [....] Kraal: (i) All attempts by Mr R to arrange
reasonable alternative accommodation in a dignified manner
were
ignored by Ms R, who instead sought and obtained the IPO only for
purposes of accessing all the matrimonial homes and not
because of
any allegations of abuse or other acts of domestic violence (as
defined in the
Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998
) on the part of Mr
R. Having indeed obtained access to Westcliff, the SAPS were called
to attend the property on two further occasions
during the evening of
12 June 2021, ostensibly based on accusations or complaints made
either by Ms R or Mr L (on information supplied
by Ms R) to the
effect that Mr R was a bully who abused and threatened Ms R, so much
so that she felt unsafe and required assistance
on two occasions
during the night from the SAPS.
[63]
No allegations of abuse or bullying on the part of Mr R towards Ms R
or any threats towards Ms R had featured in the IPO, which
dealt only
with Ms R being afforded access to the matrimonial homes. Mr R stated
that the threat of his arrest and incarceration,
precipitated by
attempts by Ms R to enforce the unenforceable IPO was so traumatising
to him that he sought urgent recourse against
what he describes as a
‘campaign of terror’ that was mounted by Ms R and Mr L,
acting in concert against him, which
conduct was malicious and
vindictive and calculated to harm him, thus making the resumption of
co-habitation intolerable;
(ii)
co-habitation at any of the matrimonial homes is not desirable or
feasible due to the peculiar, disrespectful and malicious
conduct
exhibited by Ms R,
inter
alia
,
her conduct at Westcliff in evicting house guests from the upstairs
main bedroom in order to occupy same herself; her inexplicable
actions when she resorted to climbing through a window, tampering
with security cameras and depositing some of her clothes in the
main
bedroom cupboard in an attempt to re-establish a presence at L
[....] Kraal; her relentless pursuit of vexatious litigation
against
Mr R, evidenced by the numerous domestic violence cases brought and
pursued by her against him in different courts (Worcester,
Randburg
and Johannesburg Magistrates courts), which cases (save for one which
is still pending) were either withdrawn or dismissed
on their
merits;
[64]
the laying of
spurious criminal charges against Mr R, evidenced by the certificate
of
nolle prosecui
issued by the State; and last but not least, her continued disclosure
to Mr L of personal information pertaining to Mr R, in breach
of Mr
R’s right to privacy;
[65]
which conduct Mr R says has caused him ongoing intolerable trauma and
suffering;
(iii)
the fact that the marriage has irretrievable broken down with no
possibility of restoring any harmonious relationship between
the
parties;
(iv)
the fact that luxurious reasonable accommodation was available to Ms
R at H [....] B [....], which residence she has been occupying
since
the grant of the urgent order;
78.
When
considering the factual chain of events in this matter, the conduct
of Ms R and Mr L and the escalating acrimony that it spawned,
juxtaposed against the conduct of Mr R, I cannot but conclude that
co-habitation between Mr R and Ms R is highly undesirable. I
agree
with counsel for Mr R that there is no measure of civility, goodwill
or reasonableness on the part of Ms R that can be drawn
upon to
ensure that future contact and co-habitation between Mr and Ms R will
be without hostility or further litigation. Significantly
on 17 June
2021, Ms R’s attorneys informed Mr R’s attorneys that Ms
R was not interested to return to the Westcliff
property. The fact
that L [....] Kraal forms the subject matter of R’s
counterclaim in the divorce proceedings does
not assist her case. In
the counterclaim, she seeks the dissolution of an alleged partnership
that came into existence between
the parties. The farm is alleged to
form part of the partnership assets. Ms R,
inter
alia,
seeks
that a liquidator be appointed to realise all partnership assets and
to liquidate liabilities and to make payment to her of
half the net
assets of the partnership.
[66]
In my considered view, Ms R has not made out a case for residing
pendent
lite
at L [....] Kraal, nor for accessing the property. Mr R resides
at Westcliff and conducts his law practice in Johannesburg.
There
appears to be no real impediment to Ms R’s mother visiting her
at H [....] B [....] whenever she wants. I am also not
persuaded that
H [....] B [....] comprises anything but reasonable alternative
accommodation on the facts of this case. The amenities
offered
thereat, are extensive, as more fully set out in the papers.
[67]
Relief
envisaged in paragraph 2.3 of the urgent order
79.
Mr R seeks a final order interdicting and
restraining Mr L from entering an/or approaching any of the three
matrimonial homes including
his law office in Sandhurst.
80.
The relief is premised on a threat made by
Mr L on one occasion that he intended to go to L [....] Kraal to
uplift the IPO that
was incorrectly served on a member of staff at L
[....] Kraal. No evidence has been provided to show that Mr L made
good on such
threat or that he has ever in fact entered or approached
or attempted to enter or approach any of the properties in question.
In
as much as this relief was premised on grounds that Mr L’s
behaviour is unpredictable, with no telling what he may do at any
given moment, such as to give rise to a reasonable apprehension that
Mr L would seek to enter or approach such premises, no factual
foundation exists for such an inference to be drawn. Accordingly, in
respect of paragraph 2.3 of the order, the rule nisi falls
to be
discharged.
Entitlement
to final relief
81.
As regards the relief envisaged in
paragraph 2.1 (against both respondents) and paragraph 2.2 (against
Ms R) of the urgent order,
I am persuaded that Mr R has established a
clear right to such relief. Apropos the relief envisaged in para 2.1
of the urgent order,
I am likewise persuaded that Mr R has
established a breach or infringement by the respondents of his clear
rights, as earlier discussed
in the judgment. Apropos the relief
envisaged in para 2.2 of the urgent order, I am persuaded, for all
the reasons provided, to
exercise my discretion in confirming the
rule. All that remains to consider is whether there is an adequate
alternative remedy
available to Mr R in respect of the relief
provided for in paragraph 2.1 of the urgent order.
82.
In
reference to the interdict provided for in paragraph 2.1.4 of the
order (restraining the respondents from making attempts to
have the
applicant arrested without good cause, or threatening to do so) Ms R
contends that Mr R has an adequate alternate remedy
in the form of a
damages claim based on malicious proceedings. Reliance for such a
claim was placed on,
inter
alia,
cases
such as
Beckenstrater,
Rudolph,
and
Holden,
[68]
where
the requirements of such a claim are discussed. In Moleko,
[69]
the requirements were said to be: (i) that the defendants set the law
in motion (instigated or instituted the proceedings);(ii)
that the
defendants acted without reasonable and probable cause; (iii) that
the defendants acted with ‘malice’ (or
animo
injuriandi
);
[70]
and (iv) that the prosecution has failed.
83.
In
Holden
,
it was said that:
“
A
claim for malicious prosecution can ordinarily only arise after the
successful conclusion of the criminal case in a plaintiff’s
favour. In a criminal matter, such a favourable conclusion in the
plaintiffs’ favour would occur on acquittal or the withdrawal
of the charges. The institution of a civil claim based on a malicious
prosecution before such prosecution has been finalised in
the
plaintiff’s favour, may amount to prejudging the result of the
pending proceedings. There is no discernible distinction
between
pending criminal proceedings and proceedings before statutorily
created professional tribunals. The HPCSA is such a tribunal.
The
cause of action applies to both civil and criminal proceedings and
not only the latter.”
84.
In
Beckenstrater
,
at p135 D-E, the court pointed out that ‘
…
the
requirement of proof of absence of reasonable and probable cause
seems to be a most sensible one. For it is of importance to
the
community that persons who have reasonable and probable cause for
prosecution should not be deterred from setting the criminal
law in
motion against those whom they believe to have committed offences,
even if in so doing they are actuated by indirect or
improper
motives.’
85.
The interdict in paragraph 2.1.4 is geared
towards deterring the respondents from
setting
the criminal law in motion against those whom they believe to have
committed offences (i.e., Mr R) without just (reasonable
and
probable) cause, even where no prosecution eventuates. It is geared
towards preventing conduct such as that which took place
over the
weekend of 12 June 2021 (when false complaints were laid against Mr R
for allegedly breaching the IPO, which at that stage
lacked force and
effect) and conduct such as that which occurred after the grant of
the urgent order when Ms R laid a spurious
complaint of theft against
Mr R. On the authority of
Holden,
an action
for damages would not be available to Mr R unless and until he was
charged by the prosecution and the charges withdrawn
or the
prosecution has been finalised.
86.
Mr
L contends that Mr R has an alternative remedy in terms of the
Harassment Act. He argues that, Mr R ought to have applied for
relief
against him in the relevant Magistrates Court having territorial
jurisdiction in the Western Cape, even on an urgent basis,
[71]
instead of approaching the urgent High Court in Johannesburg for
interdictory relief, when sufficient protection from Mr L’s
conduct could have been sought in the lower court in terms of the
Harassment Act, which provides for protection against mental,
psychological, physical or economic harm. In addition, in terms of
section 10(1)(c) of the Harassment Act, a court is empowered
to make
an order prohibiting a respondent from committing any other act as
specified in the protection order. In terms of section
10(2) of that
Act, the court may impose any additional conditions on a respondent
which it deems reasonably necessary to protect
and provide for the
safety or well-being of a complainant. In the result, so it was
contended, Mr R has failed to demonstrate an
absence of similar
protection by any other ordinary remedy.
87.
The Harassment Act was promulgated to
provide for the issuing of protection orders against harassment and
to afford victims of harassment
an effective remedy against such
behaviours. This is apparent from the foreword to and preamble of the
Act. In terms of the Act,
harassment consists
inter
alia
of conduct whereby the respondent
unreasonably (i) engages in any form of communication aimed at the
complainant or a related person,
whether or not conversation ensues;
or (ii) conduct involving sending, delivering or causing delivery of
electronic mail to the
complainant or a related person, which conduct
the respondent knows or ought to know causes
harm
(defined as mental, psychological, physical or economic harm) or
inspires the reasonable belief that harm may be caused to the
respondent or a related person.
88.
In terms of section 3(2), where the
application is brought without notice to the respondent, the court
must be satisfied that there
is
prima
facie
evidence that the respondent is
engaging or has engaged in harassment (as defined in the Act) and
that harm is being or may be
suffered by the complainant or a related
person as a result of that conduct if a protection order is not
issued immediately.
89.
Counsel
for Mr R submitted that whilst it is correct that Mr R could approach
a court for relief in terms of the Harassment Act,
the Act does not
provide a remedy for all the unlawful conduct perpetrated by Mr L,
acting in concert with Ms R, which includes
threats of defamation
against Mr R’s person and character, threats against Mr R’s
liberty and other vexatious conduct.
Having regard to the definition
of harm in section 1 of the Act, it does not cater for relief against
reputational harm resulting
from the uttering and publication of
defamatory statements about the complainant. Nor does the Act cater
for the type of relief
envisaged in paragraph 2.1.4 of the urgent
order which is designed to avert threats against Mr R’s
liberty. Moreover, the
unlawful and vexatious
[72]
conduct of Mr L is such that Mr R is defamed, maligned and suffers
and will continue to suffer reputational harm including impairment
to
his dignity. Such conduct also causes Mr R substantial distress as
well as ongoing economic harm in that he continuously has
to take
legal steps to defend himself against such conduct, incurring, on
each occasion, substantial legal costs.
[73]
90.
The facts show that in the various emails:-
90.1.
Mr
L threatened to report the applicant for “
improper
conduct unbecoming of a Legal Practitioner, not to mention a legal
practitioner with the status of ‘Lawyer of the
Year 2020
’
”;
[74]
90.2.
Mr
L threatened to cause Mr R reputational harm by defaming him to third
parties, including Mr R’s legal clients
[75]
and including the LPC, where after he did in fact lay a complaint
against Mr R for alleged ‘unethical ‘ conduct;
[76]
90.3.
Mr L threatened to report Mr R for fiscal
irregularities to SARS and did in fact do so;
90.4.
Notwithstanding Mr R’s request to Ms
R not to attempt to execute the ineffective IPO over the weekend of
12 June 2021, Ms
R and Mr L did exactly that, actively seeking his
arrest, leaving Mr R with no alternate remedy but to approach the
urgent court
for relief against both parties in one forum (as opposed
to instituting proceedings in in different courts having different
territorial
jurisdiction over the persons of Mr L and Ms R, which,
from a logistical perspective, would have precluded the obtaining of
urgent
relief against both on 13 June 2021) on the basis that the
urgency of the situation necessitated urgent protection from further
invasion of Mr R’s rights, which ultimately impelled the urgent
court to grant immediate interim relief. The urgent court
considered
the matter to be of sufficient urgency so as to be enrolled as an
urgent application and its decision in this regard
cannot be faulted.
91.
I
am inclined to agree that Mr L’s contentions that Mr R has
adequate alternate remedies available are flawed. Firstly, no
provision in the Harassment Act limits Mr R’s common law and
other remedies to approach the High court for appropriate relief.
Secondly, the Harassment Act does not provide relief against threats
of defamation or defamation and reputational harm
[77]
or aginst vexatious conduct. Thirdly, as was pointed out by the
Constitutional Court in
Masstores,
[78]
‘The mere existence of other remedies is not enough to tilt the
scale against the granting of an interdict. The other remedy
which
must be ordinary should afford protection that is equally or more
effective to the one provided by an interdict
.’
Fourthly, the interdict sought in para 2.1 of the urgent order is
designed to protect the clear rights of Mr R
[79]
from unlawful invasion by putting a stop to Ms R and Mr L conducting
or continuing to conduct themselves in a manner that involves
breaking the law. In the circumstance of this case, I am inclined to
agree that t
he
only ordinary and more effective remedy which provides Mr R with the
necessary protection is an interdict.
Need
for final relief
92.
Mr
R submits that the relentless and ongoing unlawful conduct of both Ms
R and Mr L prior to and after the grant of the urgent order
unequivocally demonstrates Mr R’s genuine and well-founded
apprehension that if this court does not confirm the
rule
nisi
and grant the final relief sought, the harassment, invasion of his
fundamental rights and persecution to which he has been subjected
since May 2021 will continue unabated.
[80]
93.
It
is true that further emails were sent by Mr L after the grant of the
urgent order, which formed the basis of a contempt application
in
which he was found guilty of contempt of court. The judgment of
Opperman J in this regard
[81]
deals fully with the content of the emails and Mr L’s ongoing
unlawful conduct in breach of the urgent order.
94.
What is also true is that neither
respondent has taken accountability for his or her actions,
contenting themselves with bare denials
of facts that fell within
their knowledge or pursuing unsustainable defences in justification
of their conduct. Apropos paragraph
2.2 of the urgent order, they
have not acknowledged the unlawfulness of their conduct, nor has
either one undertaken to desist
from perpetuating such unlawful
conduct in the future. As the old adage goes, ‘you can’t
change what you won’t
acknowledge’. Mr L arrogated to
himself the right to embark on an unlawful smear campaign in which he
(assisted by Ms R)
denigrated the person, character and reputation of
Mr R and in so doing, he exhibited a profound lack of restraint
and/or temperance,
all under the guise of defending his own honour
and offering support and assistance to Ms R purportedly in defence of
her honour.
Yet no measured or legally responsible approach was
adopted. There is nothing to suggest that such conduct will not
continue, unless
restrained by a final interdict.
Costs
95.
Ms R and Mr L seek the discharge of the
rule and concomitant dismissal of this application with costs.
96.
Mr R seeks a punitive costs order against
the respondents on the basis,
inter
alia,
that it is solely the unlawful
conduct of the respondents that necessitated and precipitated the
urgent application. Further, the
ongoing conduct by the respondents
after the grant of the urgent order justifies such an award. This,
juxtaposed against Mr R’s
conduct where he did not engage in
any communications with the respondents; did all in his power to
conduct the divorce litigation
in a dignified manner, made numerous
attempts to arrange interim alternate accommodation with Ms R in a
dignified manner (which
attempts were rebuffed and met rather with Ms
R obtaining an IPO); including his attempt to resolve the issues
herein with a tender
that the rule be confirmed with each party to
pay his/her own costs, which tender was rebuffed by Mr L (speaking
also on behalf
of Ms R) in his email of 27 August 2021, in which he
said the following:
“
Hi
[Ms C]…
Kindly
inform your client that the deal he facilitated…and was paid
15 Million commission is going to look like a walk in
the park to
what he is facing now, I’m going to make this offer only
once…if
[Mr R]
withdraws
his sideshows, so will
[Ms R] and I, if
not, we’ll both go the distance, at
[Mr
R’s] peril…”
97.
Later, on the same day, Mr L wrote: “
Hi
[Ms C]…
COB…No
reply…So noted. Now we’ll go the distance…trust
your client has enough money for this…I
have… Trust me
on this one…He is in for a big shock…”
98.
Mr
L’s conduct escalated thereafter, culminating in a finding of
contempt of court by Opperman J, following his continued
harassment
and unlawful communications, with the learned Judge finding that Mr L
intentionally sought to undermine and harm the
reputation and dignity
of Mr R in contravention of the urgent order. Ms R too exhibited
vexatious conduct in her ongoing attempts
to have Mr R arrested by
laying unfounded criminal charges against Mr R and persisted with
ill-considered domestic violence applications
that were either
withdrawn of dismissed, with yet a further application pending in the
magistrates court. This has caused Mr R
to incur substantial legal
costs. This must be viewed against the backdrop of Mr L being
cautioned to desist from his unlawful
conduct as long ago as 14 May
2021.
[82]
and Ms R being
cautioned against any attempts by her (assisted by Mr L) to attempt
to enforce an unenforceable IPO over the weekend
of 12 June 2021.
99.
In
Plastic
Converters
,
[83]
the court cautioned that the scale of attorney and client is one
which should be reserved for cases where it can be found that
a
litigant conducted itself in a clear and indubitably vexatious and
reprehensible matter. The term ‘vexatious’ was
considered
in the context of a punitive costs award in
Johannesburg
City Council
.
[84]
The court held that proceedings may be regarded as vexatious when a
litigant puts the other side to unnecessary trouble and expense
which
it ought not to bear. The Constitutional Court affirmed this approach
in
Public
Protector v SARB
,
[85]
stating that a punitive costs order is appropriate ‘in
circumstances where it would be unfair to expect a party to bear any
of the costs occasioned by the litigation’
[86]
and is designed ‘to mark the court’s displeasure at a
litigant’s conduct, which includes vexatious conduct and
conduct that amounts to an abuse of the process of court’.
[87]
Mr R was obliged to launch the application to protect himself from a
violation of his human rights and to obtain respite from unlawful
conduct to which he was subjected, which Mr L described sardonically
as ‘fun’.
100.
The recalcitrant and unreasonable approach
adopted by the respondents in this matter and their ongoing violation
of Mr R’s
rights pursuant to the urgent order, in my view,
warrants the imposition of a punitive costs order.
101.
Although Mr L has succeeded in discharging
the rule in respect of paragraph 2.3 of the urgent order, Mr R has
achieved substantial
success in this matter. The relief envisaged in
paragraph 2.3 of the urgent order occupied very little attention in
the papers
or in the written or oral arguments presented by the
parties in this matter. I see no reason to depart from the general
rule that
costs follow the result. The jurisdictional challenge
having failed, there is no merit in Mr L’s argument that costs
be awarded
on the magistrates court scale.
102.
Accordingly, the following order is
granted:
ORDER:
1.
Paragraphs 2.1 (inclusive of sub-paragraphs
2.1.1 to 2.1.5) and 2.2 (inclusive of sub-paragraphs 2.2.1 to 2.2.3)
of the
rule nisi
granted on 13 June 2021, subsequently extended on 29 July 2021, 1
September 2021 and 3 November 2021, is confirmed
2.
The first and second respondents are
interdicted and restrained from:
2.1.
Without cause, making unsolicited
contact, in person, telephonically or in writing, including
electronically or on social media
platforms, with the applicant.
2.2.
Publishing any communications, including
electronically or on social media platforms, about me which contain
allegations and/or
insinuations regarding any alleged impropriety, be
personal, professional or fiscal.
2.3.
Making any communication, whether in
writing, telephonically or in person that threatens, insults and/or
seeks to undermine or harm
the applicant's reputation and dignity.
2.4.
Making attempts to have the applicant
arrested without good cause, or threatening to do so.
2.5.
Harassing, threatening, intimidating, or
verbally or physically abusing the applicant.
3.
The first respondent is:
3.1.
Interdicted and restrained from entering
the former matrimonial home situated at 19 P [....] Road,
Westcliff.
3.2.
Interdicted and restrained from entering
the farm L [....] Kraal in Montagu District, Western Cape.
3.3.
Authorised, pendente lite the divorce
action under case number 24248/2021, to occupy one of the matrimonial
homes, known as Holly
Brook, situated at [....] M [....]
R [....], K [....], Midrand.
4.
Paragraph 2.3 (inclusive of sub-paragraphs
2.3.1 to 2.3.4) of the
rule nisi
is
discharged.
5.
The first and second
respondents shall pay the costs of this application, jointly and
severally, the one paying the other to be
absolved, on an attorney
and client scale, including the costs previously reserved on 13 June
2021, 29 July 2021, 1 September 2021,
and 23 November 2021, and
including the costs of two counsel.
AVRILLE
MAIER-FRAWLEY
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT,
GAUTENG
DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
Date
of hearing:
16 March 2022
Judgment
delivered
13 June 2022
This
judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties’ legal representatives by email, publication on
Caselines and release to SAFLII. The date and time for hand-down is
deemed to be have been at 10h00 on 13 June 2022.
APPEARANCES:
Counsel for
Plaintiff:
Adv A. De Wet SC together with Adv S.
Liebenberg
Attorneys
for Plaintiff:
Ulrich Roux and Associates
Counsel
for First Defendant:
Adv E. Furstenburg
Attorneys
for First Defendant:
CHM Steyn Attorney
c/o
Craig Baillie Attorneys
Counsel
for Second Defendant:
Adv JC Bornman
Attorneys
for Second Defendant:
Van Zyl and Hofmeyr Attorneys
c/o Fouche Attorneys
[1]
[1]
On
29 July 2021 the rule was extended to 1 September 2021, then further
extended to 23 November 2021 and then again extended to
the opposed
motion roll of 14 March 2022.
[2]
Since
the grant of the urgent order, Mr R and Ms R no longer reside
together in the same home. Mr R resides in the Westcliffe
home
whilst Ms R resides in the Hollyberry home
pendent
lite
the conclusion of the divorce action.
[3]
This
period preceded the grant of the urgent order.
[4]
The
Cambridge English dictionary defines
‘
dodgy’
as
dishonest.
See:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dodgy
[5]
The
Cambridge dictionary defines ‘japper’ as a small dog
having a high-pitched bark. See:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/french-english/japper
[6]
The
Urban dictionary defines ‘genetic waste’ as a waste of
genes – when used in reference to a person, it connotes
a
person who is such an utter failure that his parents’ genes
(which probably weren’t very good to begin with, given
the
outcome) were wasted. See:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Waste%20of%20Genes
[7]
Cordient
Trading CC v Daimler Chrysler Financial Services (Pty) Ltd
2005
(6) SA 205
(SCA), para 11.
[8]
Zokufa
v Compuscan (Credit Bureau)
2011
(1) SA 272 (ECM)
[9]
Gulf
Oil Corporation v Rembrandt Fabrikante en Handelaars (Edms) Bpk
1963
(2) SA 10
(T) at 17D-H where Trollip J stated that ‘cause’
means an action or legal proceeding and that ‘a cause arising
within its area of jurisdiction’ means ‘an action or
legal proceeding which, according to the law, has duly originated
within the court’s area of jurisdiction.
[10]
Road
Accident Fund v Legal Practise Council and Others
2021
(6) SA 230
GP
[11]
For
a full discussion of the principle of
causa
continentia
see:
Road
Accident Fund v Legal Practise Council and Others,
cited
in fn 10 above.
[12]
See:
Setlego
v Setlego
1914
AD 221
at 227.
[13]
Ibid
Zokufa
,
cited in fn 8 above, at para 42. At para 43, the court went on to
say that ‘
Generally,
a breach of a right occurs at a place where the right vests. The act
of setting the breach in motion may occur somewhere
else, but the
breach usually takes place where the right vests.
[14]
An
‘email’ is defined in the
Electronic Communications and
Transactions Act, 25 of 2002
as ‘
electronic
mail, a data message used or intended to be used as a mail message
between the originator and addressee in an electronic
communication
’
and
in terms of
s 23
, a data message must be regarded as having been
sent from the originator’s usual place of business or
residence and as
having been received from the addressee’s
usual place of business or residence.
[15]
On
Mr L’s version, he assisted Ms R to procure the arrest of Mr R
based on information provided to Mr L by Ms R to the effect
that Mr
R was breaching the terms of the interim protection order, by way of
speaking telephonically to members of the SAPS at
Parkview Police
Station on 12 June 2021.
[16]
Sciacero
& Co v Central South African Railways
1910
TS 119.
[17]
Id
RAF
v LPC and Others
(cited in fn 10 above).
[18]
Id
Zokufa
(cited
in fn 8 above)
[19]
Bisonboard
Ltd v K Braun Woodworking Machinery (Pty) Ltd
[1991]
ALL SA 201
(A) at 222, where the following was said: “
The
inquiry is a dual one: (1) is there a recognised ground of
jurisdiction; and if there is, (2) is the doctrine of effectiveness
satisfied – has the Court power to give effect to the judgment
sought’
[20]
James
v Lunden
1918
WLD 88
[21]
Di
Bona v Di Bona and Another
[1993]
3 All SA (C) at 633
[22]
The
papers refer to the fact that a contempt of court application was
instituted against Mr L in this division after the grant
of the
urgent order, in terms of which he was found guilty of contempt of
court.
Inter
alia, a
coercive order for committal, suspended on certain conditions, was
granted against him in those proceedings. Leave to appeal
against
the order was refused by the court a quo. A petition for leave to
appeal was made to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which
succeeded, but
only apropos the amount of an additional penalty (a fine of
R70,000.00) imposed by the court
a
quo
upon Mr L for being in contempt of court. Leave to appeal was
not
granted on the basis of any lack of jurisdiction on the part of the
court
a
quo
to entertain the matter.
[23]
The
farm in the Karoo and the Westcliff property were acquired by Mr R
prior to his marriage to Ms R.
[24]
According
to Ms R, she was told by Mr R’s brother, one Andre (
Andre
)
to vacate Lettas Kraal farm on 5 May 2021 as Mr R was due to arrive
at the farm later that day. Being ‘threatened and
fearful’
she vacated in haste, packing and taking what she could with her. On
13 May 2021 some but not all of her belongings
were dropped off at
the neighbouring farm. According to Mr R (as confirmed by his
brother Andre under oath) Andre did not order
or instruct Ms R to
leave the farm on 5 May 2021. Andre merely asserted that it would be
best if she were not present at the
farm when Mr R arrived so as to
avoid any altercation between the parties. She did not flee from the
farm and there was no reason
for her to have felt threatened or
fearful.
[25]
Per
Annexure ‘B9’ at 003-60
[26]
The
content of each of the 54 emails is set out in the
applicant’s
timeline
at 033-22 to 033-39 of the papers.
[27]
It
is not in dispute on the papers that Ms R had been staying at a
neighbouring
farm
whilst the Karoo after 5 May 2021.
[28]
Annexure
‘B5’ at 003-54 to 003-55.
[29]
On
21 May 2021 Ms R’s attorney wrote to Mr R’s attorney
stating that ‘
Our
client is currently staying at Westcliff. As her mother stays there,
she prefers to remain at Westcliff at least until the
interim
arrangements have been finalized.’
[30]
The
IPO was never served on Mr R, whether prior to or pursuant to the
launch of the urgent application. By the time the present
matter was
heard in this court, the IPO had in fact been withdrawn by Ms R in
the Worcester Magistrates Court.
[31]
It
is not in dispute that Ms R had been communicating with Mr L in
relation to the happenings at Westcliff from the time of her
arrival
thereat and later when the police attended at such home. Ms R had
even sent Mr L a picture of the locked security gate
situated on the
outside Mr R’s bedroom.
[32]
This
is ostensibly a reference to Mr L’s email of 18 May 2021
addressed to Mr R in which Mr L stated as follows: “…
O..en
as jy weer met jou prokureur praat, kan ju aan haar noem dat
ek
nie ‘unstable’ is nie, maar ek deel met sulkes
…’
and
I’m having fun’
…”
(emphasis
added)
This
email followed after Ms C’s letter addressed to Mr’s L’s
attorneys on 17 May 2021 wherein she stated as
follows:
“
1.
Despite our letter of 14 May 2021, your client has continued to
incessantly send our client abusive and threatening emails,
the
content, tone and frequency of which say a great deal more about
your client than they do about ours. This
behaviour
can only be described as
unstable
,
and your client continues with it at his peril
…”
[33]
Annexure
‘AL2’ at 006-18
[34]
Annexure
’AL4’ at 006-21
[35]
Annexure
‘C16’ at 003-95
[36]
Annexure
‘C17’ at 003-96
[37]
Defamatory
statements include statements which injure the reputation of the
person concerned in his or her character, trade, business
profession
or office or which exposes the person to enmity, ridicule or
contempt. See:
Chetty
v Perumaul
(AR313/2020)
[2021] ZAKZPHC 66 (21 September 2021), par 11 and the authority
there cited.
[38]
Annexure
‘D9’ at 003-139 - letter from Ms C to Mr L’s
attorneys,
inter
alia,
stating
as follows:
“
3.
…
the contents of the emails
constitute harassment, as defined by the Protection of Harassment
Act, 17 of 2011, and such harassment
will not be tolerated…
4.
Your client has obviously decided to enter the fray and to involve
himself in the divorce proceedings between our client and
his wife.
By their very nature, these proceedings are intensely personal, and
your client’s involvement is both unwanted
and grossly
inappropriate.
5.
Our client has no intention of dignifying your client’s
incoherent rants with a reply, and neither does he intend to
descend
to the level to which your client appears intent on dragging him…our
client has no desire or obligation to interact
with your client
and…your client should refrain from making contact with him
again by any means whatsoever…”
[39]
The
Protection from Harassment Act, 2011 (
Harassment
Act)
defines ‘harassment’
inter
alia
,
as:
“
directly
or indirectly engaging in conduct that the respondent knows or
reasonably ought to know -
(a)
causes harm or inspires the reasonable
belief that harm may be caused to the complainant…by
unreasonably-
(i)
…
(ii)
engaging in verbal, electronic or any
other communication aimed at the complainant or a related person, by
any means, whether
or not conversation ensues; or
(iii)
sending, delivering or causing the
delivery of letters… electronic mail to the complainant or a
related person…
(b)
…”
‘
Harm’
in turn means ‘any mental, psychological, physical or economic
harm’.
[40]
See,
for example: annexure ‘C43’ - Mr L states that Ms R is
happy to live in the same bedroom and sleep in the same
bed as Mr R,
this notwithstanding that Mr R had by this time made it clear that
cohabitation between them was no longer viable,
given that their
marriage had irretrievably broken down; See further: annexures ‘C2”
at 003-80; ‘C8’
at 003-86; ‘C29’ at 003-15;
‘C30’ at 003-109; ‘C33’ at 003-112; ‘C39’
at 003-118;
‘C40’ at 003-119; ‘C46’ at
003-126 & 003-127; ‘C53’ at 003-137 and email of 13
June 2021
at 017-30.
[41]
See,
for example, Annexures ‘C12’ at 003-90; ‘C46’
at 003-127;and ’C48’ at 003-130.
[42]
On
12 May 2021, Ms C recorded that ‘,,,
The
summons for divorce will be served on your client while she is in
Johannesburg…You will no doubt advise your client
that
summons is simply a necessary procedural step,
and
not a declaration of war
…”
(Emphasis
added) – annexure ‘B5’ at 003-53. On 18 May
2021, Mr L sent the following communication: “
Declaration
of war…Does This Ring True…See You There…’
–
annexure
‘C15’ at 003-94.
[43]
See,
for example, annexures ‘C8’ (003-86); ‘C15’
(003-94); ‘C38’ (003-117).
[44]
See,
for example, annexures ‘C36’ (003-115); ‘C39’
(003-118); ‘C40’ (003-119’ C41’
(003-120/21); ’C43’ (003-123) ‘C46’-
attaching email from Ms R at 003-126 to 003-127; ‘C48’
&
‘C49’ (003-129 to 003-131) and ‘C53’
(003-137)
[45]
Annexure
‘B10’ at 003-61.
[46]
See
Annexure
‘T4’ at 005-26.
[47]
Plascon-Evans
Paints
Ltd
v Van Riebeeck Paints (Pty) Ltd
[1984] ZASCA 51
;
1984
(3) SA 623
;
1984 (3) SA 620.
See
also:
National
Director of Public Prosecutions v Zuma
[2009] ZASCA 1
;
2009
(2) SA 277
(SCA), where the Supreme court of Appeal held at para 26 that
‘
[m]otion
proceedings, unless concerned with interim relief, are all about the
resolution of legal issues based on common cause
facts. Unless the
circumstances are special, they cannot be used to resolve factual
issues because they are not designed to determine
probabilities. It
is well established under the
Plascon-Evans
rule
that where in motion proceedings disputes of fact arise on the
affidavits, a final order can be granted only if the facts
averred
in the applicant’s affidavits, which have been admitted by the
respondent together with the facts alleged by the
latter, justify
such order. It may be different if the respondent’s version
consists of bald or uncreditworthy denials,
raises fictitious
disputes of fact, is palpably implausible, far-fetched or so clearly
untenable that the court is justified
in rejecting them on the
papers.’ and
Media
24 v Oxford University Press
;
2017
(2) SA 1
(
SCA);
and
Malan
and Another v Law Society Northern Provinces
2009 (1) SA 216 (SCA).
[48]
Motolo
and another v Lombard and Others
(CCT
269/21)
[2021] ZACC 39
(8 November 2021), at para 38 (read with fn
29).
[49]
In
terms of
s 13(1)
of the
Domestic Violence Act, service
is to be
effected in the prescribed manner by the clerk of the court, the
sheriff or a peace officer, or as the court may direct.
It appears
from a perusal of the IPO that the court gave no directions to an
alternative form or manner of service.
[50]
See
Annexure ‘B15’ (003-73 to 003-76) – letter dated
12 June2021 from Ms C to Mr Steyn.
[51]
Section
1 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (
the
Constitution)
[52]
Including
the right to bodily and psychological integrity.
[53]
See
Greef
en Andere v Protection 4U t/a Protect International en Andere
2012
(6) SA 392
(GNP) , para 53; ]
In
Khumalo and Others v Holomisa
2002(5)
SA 401 (CC) at paras 26-27, the Constitutional court held as
follows:
“…
Under
our new constitutional order, the recognition and protection of
human dignity is a foundational constitutional value.
30
As
this Court held in
Dawood
and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Others
[2000]
ZACC 8
;
2000
(3) SA 936
(CC);
2000
(8) BCLR 837
(CC)
at para 35:
“
The
value of dignity in our Constitutional framework cannot . . . be
doubted. The Constitution asserts dignity to contradict our
past in
which human dignity for black South Africans was routinely and
cruelly denied. It asserts it too to inform the future,
to invest in
our democracy respect for the intrinsic worth of all human beings.
Human dignity therefore informs constitutional
adjudication and
interpretation at a range of levels.”
31
In
the context of the actio injuriarum, our common law has separated
the causes of action for claims for injuries to reputation
(fama)
and dignitas. Dignitas concerns the individual’s own sense of
self worth, but included in the concept are a variety
of personal
rights including, for example, privacy. In our new constitutional
order, no sharp line can be drawn between these
injuries to
personality rights. The value of human dignity in our Constitution
is not only concerned with an individual’s
sense of
self-worth, but constitutes an affirmation of the worth of human
beings in our society. It includes the intrinsic worth
of human
beings shared by all people as well as the individual reputation of
each person built upon his or her own individual
achievements. The
value of human dignity in our Constitution therefore values both the
personal sense of self-worth as well as
the public’s
estimation of the worth or value of an individual. It should also be
noted that there is a close link between
human dignity and privacy
in our constitutional order.
32
The
right to privacy, entrenched in section 14 of the Constitution,
recognises that human beings have a right to a sphere
of intimacy
and autonomy that should be protected from invasion.
33
This
right serves to foster human dignity. No sharp lines then can be
drawn between reputation, dignitas and privacy in
giving effect to
the value of human dignity in our Constitution…”
[54]
See
Matiwane
v Cecil Nathan, Beattie & Co
1972 (1) SA 222
(N) at 229, where the following was said: “
I
do not regard a deliberate aggression upon personal dignity as being
a trivial matter. As INNES CJ said in Botha v Pretoria
Printing
Works Ltd
1906 T.S. 710
…’If courts of law do not
intervene effectively in cases of tis kind then one of two results
will follow- either
one man will avenge himself for an insult to
himself by insulting the other, or else he will take the law into
his own hands.”
[55]
Chetty
v Perumaul
(AR
313/2020) [2021] ZAKZPHC 66, para 46.
See
too:
Gelb v Hawkins
1960 (3) SA 687
(A) where the court held
that: ‘…
it is a grave and ugly thing falsely to say
of an attorney that he deliberately deceived the Court, and to that
end was party
to the leading of perjured testimony. It is worse when
it is said of an attorney who, according to the evidence, was
trained
in the strict observance of professional ethics and for
thirty years has jealously guarded his good name.”
[56]
Quote
by
Jodi
Picoult – which holds true in the context of this matter.
[57]
See
V&A
Waterfront Properties (Pty) Ltd and Another v Helicopter &
Marine Services (Pty) Ltd and Others
2006
(1) SA 252
(SCA);
Masstores
(Pty) Ltd v Pick ‘n Pay Retailers (Pty) Ltd
2017
(1) SA 613 (CC).
[58]
See
para 34 at 007-35 to 007-36.
[59]
Annexure
‘RA16’ at 007-136 to 007-138.
[60]
Cattle
Breeders Farm (Pvt) Ltd v Veldman
[1974]
1 All SA 289
(RA) at 291. See too
Badenhorst
v Badenhorst
1964
(2) SA 676
(T) at 679 C-E, where the court accepted that the
non-owner spouse’s right to remain in the matrimonial home was
based
on rights flowing from the marriage. The court held that the
owner spouse’s right to eject the other spouse from the
matrimonial
home flows ‘from considerations which to a great
extent must depend on the merits of the matrimonial dispute…The
mere fact that the wife owns the property does not entitle her to an
order, but the Court can in a proper case exercise its discretion
in
her favour.’
[61]
B[....]
v B[....] (D951/2020) [2020] ZAKZDHC 67 (30 December 2020)
[62]
See
SGB
v SB
(D951/2020)
ZAKZDHC 67 (30 December 2020) at paras 9 & 14
[63]
According
to Ms R,
she
minded her own business during the evening of 12 June 2021. She
never confronted Mr R about him locking himself in the main
bedroom
and in fact had no discussions with him that evening. She also never
told the SAPS that Mr R was a ‘bully’.
Mr R’s
version on the other hand is that he overheard Ms R telling the
police that he was a bully. Ms R’s version,
namely, that the
SAPS attended at the property on two further occasions likely
‘of their own accord as a follow-up’
and that the police
themselves suggested to her that it was not safe for her to stay in
the home is, in my view, palpably untenable
and should be rejected.
There was no reason for Ms R to feel unsafe at all, considering Mr R
had locked himself in his main bedroom
precisely because he wanted
to avoid any interaction or confrontation with Ms R and because he
feared false allegations of domestic
abuse being made against him.
Why the SAPS members would have formed the impression that Ms R was
unsafe, is not explained at
all by her at all. On Mr L’s
version, he contacted the police based on information provided to
him by Ms R. Ms R did not
dispute providing the information to Mr L.
The police could only have formed their impressions based on what
they were told.
And on Mr L’s version, he informed them of
what Ms R told him. On 13 June 2021, Ms R sent an email to Mr L
concerning a
telephone call she had received from the SAPS to
enquire if she was ‘ok’ (per annexure ‘C48’
at 003-129
to 003-130). Mr L thereafter published the said email to
Mr R and his attorneys and others. Ms R’s said email followed
after Mr L’s 48
th
email wherein he informed Ms C that ‘
your
client is now on ‘Speed-Dial at the Police Station’
(per
Annexure “C47 at 003-128).
[64]
This
includes threats to seek further domestic violence orders against Mr
R - On 12 June 2012, Mr L wrote: “
I
place on record that
I
just spoke to T
[Ms
R]
and
that
[Mr
R’s]
brother
Andre has been verbally abusing her on
[Mr
R’s]
instructions.
Should this continue
she’ll
go to the local police station and get another ‘Interim
Protection Order’ against him
.”
(emphasis added)
[65]
Evidenced,
inter
alia,
by
Ms R sending a photo to Mr L of the inner sanctity of the house,
depicting a locked security gate outside the main bedroom;
Ms R’s
email to Mr L on 13 June 2021 (at 003-127) in which she accused Mr R
of lying to the SAPS, which Mr L then utilized
to send his 47
th
email on 13 June 2021 (annexure ‘C46’ at 003-126 to
003-127).
[66]
See
counterclaim at 009-87
[67]
See,
for example, annexure “RA15” at 007-133 to 007-135,
wherein Ms C placed on record, the following in paras 13
and 14 of
her letter to Ms R’s attorneys: “
In
respect of the Kyalami property which your client alleges is unsafe,
our client instructs that it is protected by beams, electric
perimeter fencing, impenetrable security shutters, and 24/7 armed
response… There is a spare generator which our client
is
happy to make available to your client…”
See
too: annexures ‘RA16’ at 007-136 to 007-139 and
‘RA5 at 007-111 to 007-112 –
Inter
alia
,
Mr R arranged for the installation of a generator and effected
various repairs, installed an internal alarm system and delivered
a
washing machine to Hollyberry, all at his cost
.
[68]
Beckenstrater
v Rottcher and Theunissen
1955
(1) SA 129
(A) at 135A-136B;
Rudolph
and Others v Minister of Safety and Security and Another
2009
(5) SA 94
(SCA at para 16;
Holden v
Assmang Ltd
2021 (6) SA 345
(SCA) at para 10.
[69]
Minister
of Justice and Constitutional Development and Others v Moleko
2009 (2) SACR 585
(SCA) at para 8
[70]
See
Relyant
Trading (Pty) Ltd v Shongwe
[2007]
1 All SA 375
(SCA) para 5, referring to
Lederman
v Moharal Investments (Pty) Ltd
1969 (1) SA 190
(A) at 196G–H;
Thompson
v Minister of Police
1971
(1) SA 371
(E) at 373F-H and J Neethling, JM Potgieter & PJ
Visser
Neethling’s
Law of Personality
2
ed (2005) pp 124-125 (see also pp172-173 and the authorities there
cited). Cf 15
Lawsa
(
sv
‘Malicious
Proceedings’ by DJ McQuoid-Mason) (reissue, 1999 para 441;
François du Bois (General Editor)
Wille’s
Principles of South African Law
9
ed (2007) pp 1192-1193; LTC Harms
Amler’s
Precedents of Pleadings
6
ed (2003) p 238-239.
[71]
In
terms of section 2(5) of the Act, an application for a protection
order against harassment may be brought outside ordinary
court hours
or on a day which is not an ordinary court day, if
the
court
has a reasonable belief that the complainant or a related person is
suffering or may suffer harm if the application is not dealt
with
immediately.
[72]
Albeit
discussed within a different context, the court in
Marib
Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Parring NO and Ot
hers
(22058/2019)
[2020] ZAWCHC 74
(7 August 2020) held that
‘
Vexatious’
may
refer to proceedings instituted by a litigant which is designed to
frustrate and harass a defendant or proceedings instituted
to cause
annoyance to a defendant.
See
too: ABSA Bank Ltd v Dlamini
[2007] ZAGPHC 241
;
2008
(2) SA 262
(T)
where the meaning of vexatious was dicussed in relation to claims
that
were 'frivolous, improper, instituted without sufficient ground, to
serve solely as
an
annoyance to the defendant.'
[73]
Evidenced
by the numerous domestic violence proceedings instituted by Ms R in
the various courts; the unfounded criminal complaint
laid by Ms R;
and the various unfounded complaints laid by Mr L with SARS and the
LPC.
[74]
Per
email of 11 June 2021 addressed by one of Mr L’s attorneys to
Mr R’s attorney at 003-145. See too Mr L’s
email of 15
May 2021 (annexure ‘C7” at 003-85). Seen in the context
of this matter, the ‘unbecoming conduct’
related to Mr R
being a ‘woman abuser’ based on untested and
unsubstantiated allegations and which, in the climate
of gender
based violence in this country, is to be considered per se
defamatory, connoting as it does that Mr R is guilty of
domestic
violence or criminal conduct and is not a fit and proper person to
practice his profession.
[75]
The
identities of Mr R’s clients (referred to by Mr L in his email
of 15 may 2021 (Annexure ‘C6’ at 003-85)
could only have
been revealed to Mr L by Ms R. This email contained a veiled threat
to inform them of Mr R’s abuse of women.
See to Mr L’s
email of 8 October 2021 at 031-159 - His threats did not abate
despite the grant of the urgent order.
[76]
On
the ground that Mr R obtained the bank statements of Ms R,
notwithstanding that Mr R had lawfully obtained such bank statements
under subpoena and no unethical conduct was present.
[77]
Threats
to publish defamatory matter to the public or third parties or
making unfounded reports to authorities (SARS) or
Mr R’s
regulatory professional body do not fall within the definition of
harassment in the Harasment Act.
[78]
Masstores
(Pty) Ltd v Pick ‘n Pay Retailers (Pty) Ltd
2017
(1) SA 613
(CC) at para 104.
[79]
To
have his dignity respected and protected (s 10 of the Constitution);
to have his freedom and security of person protected (s
12 of the
Constitution), and to have his right to a good reputation, which is
part of the right to dignity, protected.
[80]
Mr
R’s evidence in this regard is set out in his papers, inter
alia, at 008-7; and 007-22 to 007-25
[81]
See:
JR
v AL
(21609
of 2021) [2021] ZAGPJHC 21 (25 October 2021).
[82]
See:
letter from Mr R’s attorneys to Mr L’s attorneys at
003-139 wherein he was cautioned as follows: “…
the
contents of
[Mr
L’s)
emails
constitute harassment as defined in the Protection of harassment
Act, 17 of 2011…Your client has obviously decided
to enter
the fray and to involve himself in the divorce proceedings between
our client and his wife. By their very nature, these
proceedings are
intensely personal, and your client’s involvement is both
unwarranted and grossly inappropriate…Furthermore,
our client
is a very senior and respected attorney and should your client make
any attempt to contact his clients, colleagues,
friends or business
associates about him – as threatened in his emails- our client
will not hesitate to seek the appropriate
interdictory relief…”
83
Plastic Converters Association of South
Africa on behalf of Members v National Union of Metalworkers of SA
[2016] ZALAC 39
; [2016] 37 ILJ 2815
(LAC) at para 46.
[84]
Johannesburg
City Council v Television & Electrical Distributors (pty) Ltd
and Another
1997
(1) SA 157
(A) at 177D-E.
[85]
Public
Protector v SARB
[2019]
ZACC 29
;
2019 (9) BCLR 1113
(CC) at para 144.
[86]
Public
Protector v SARB,
para
221
.
[87]
Public
Protector v SARB,
para
223.
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