After failing to pay a single thebe for 19 months, in a frantic, last minute scramble to avoid going to prison over unpaid child maintenance, a desperate dad forked out P7, 600 in one go.
Appearing before Village Magistrates Court this week, having pleaded guilty to 16 counts of failure to maintain his child, Boyboy Keaikitsi faced a possible 16 years in prison.
While his sudden eagerness to get out his cheque book saved him a prolonged spell behind bars, it could not spare him from prison altogether.
Presiding over the case, Chief Magistrate, Daniel Nkau, sentenced Keaikitsi to six months for each count, instead of the full 12.
Crucially, the Magistrate ruled that the terms would run concurrently, meaning he will serve six months in the slammer instead of eight years.
Despite his leniency, the unimpressed Magistrate warned Keaikitse he had committed a serious offence by neglecting his child and continually failing to pay the P400 monthly maintenance court had previously ordered.
“What happens when court orders are not obeyed? Confidence in the courts would be eroded, which will cause the society to descend into lawlessness. Is it in the public interest that fathers run away from their responsibilities for over 16 months without knowing what their flesh and blood is living on? What then becomes of the child?” demanded Nkau, describing Keaikitse as selfish.
Others in the courtroom were equally scathing, with terms like ‘deadbeat’ and ‘cheapskate’ muttered amongst the gallery.
The court case is not entirely closed either, as the father faces a further two counts of non-compliance, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Remanded in custody, he is back in court on 27 November for status update in the remaining two counts.
