Family: 'Co-ordinator' appointed for parents in child dispute

A dispute between the parents of a boy, aged seven, has resulted in a judge appointing a parenting coordinator in a bid to get the fighting parents to try to find common ground, says a Cape Times report. A Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) judge said the court was the upper guardian of minors. In this capacity, the court had an obligation always to act in the best interests of children. Thus, in this case, if the parents could not see eye to eye regarding their child, a third party must be appointed to ensure the wellbeing of the child.

The judge noted the boy's parents were never married and they separated after being together for six years. Since they had split-up – when the child was 18 months-old – he was the subject of numerous court battles. The mother mostly turned to court, it was said, in a bid to bar the father from having contact with the child. She levelled numerous allegations against him – from sexually abusing the child to having ‘spanked’ him. While the mother has over the years retracted some of her allegations of sexual abuse against the father, in the latest turn of events she was again convinced that the child was being molested. This time a criminal investigation is pending, and the prosecuting authority must thereafter decide whether the father should face charges. Pending this, the mother has refused the father any contact with the child, which led to the present application.