While many people had welcomed a previous High Court ruling by Justice Lot Moroka that adultery should be resolved by families rather than the courts, the highest court in the land on Friday overturned that decision, as it ruled that “our society still regards marriage as bringing with it the right to dignity which is to be protected by our courts”. CoA Justice Isaac Lesetedi alongside Justices Monametsi Gaongalelwe and Leatile Dambe agree that adultery by nature inflicts a heavy blow to the personality of the innocent spouse, as such the aggrieved parties are liable to compensation.
The Justices made this judgement in a matter in which one Molebi Chepete had appealed a decision to award Otaatia Tshukudu compensation after the latter had sued for adultery and marriage wrecking. Chepete had been found guilty of wrecking Tshukudu’s marriage and ordered to pay 30 beasts or P90,000 as compensation by the Senior Customary Court in Serowe and later on, the High Court in 2020. Chepete could not accept defeat hence he noted an appeal with CoA on the grounds that the High Court fell into a grave error of upholding an appeal. He contended that the appeal was filed out of time without the requisite leave to appeal out of time that the court a quo fell into grave error of disregarding the entirety of the evidence led before the Customary Cort.
