Senior cabinet minister granted divorce, accuses ex-wife of using witchcraft

A senior cabinet minister has been granted a divorce after a bitter marital battle lasting four years in which he accused his ex-wife of trying to harm him with witchcraft.

The divorce, granted last week in the High Court in Cape Town, has other elements of a local soap opera: cellphone hacking, a protection order against domestic violence and a second family in another town.

The minister and his ex-wife cannot be identified because of a Constitutional Court ruling that, to protect any children involved, couples in divorce actions can be named only if permission is granted by a court. The Sunday Times did not seek such permission.

Although all divorce court records are public documents, it is an increasing trend among well-known people and celebrities to add a confidentiality provision to the settlement agreement.

In the minister's case, his divorce settlement states: "The reasons for the breakdown of the marriage will not be divulged to any journalist, member of the press or media person."

The minister says in his affidavit that his marriage is over because he and his ex-wife have "drifted apart emotionally".

In his founding affidavit, the minister describes himself as a man with "strong principles, morals and religious beliefs".

But he started an extramarital relationship shortly before his 10th wedding anniversary. He admitted to the affair after his ex-wife discovered a series of SMSes between him and his mistress.

"Although I was initially prepared to condone his affair, his subsequent conduct has made it impossible for me to pursue this marriage relationship," his ex-wife says in her affidavit.

The minister admits in an answering affidavit: "I do not deny that I befriended and thereafter became involved with a third party."

The minister, who has two children with his mistress, is apparently planning to marry her. The couple have already conducted a traditional nuptial ceremony.

The minister and his ex-wife - who is also a government official - were married in October 2000 in KwaZulu-Natal. But, according to the minister, their marriage started "experiencing problems" nine years later.

In his papers, the minister accuses his ex-wife of having been involved in witchcraft "or alternatively caused witchcraft practices and rituals to be conducted" at his homes.

"[She] wanted to cause [me] harm by endeavouring to cause unknown substances to be placed in my food and beverages," the minister writes in one of his affidavits.

"There were various instances where [she] practised witchcraft whereby she took my shirts to her sangoma and further she requested that the child minder sprinkle substances into my food.

"The child minder sent me an SMS text message advising me to be very cautious around the house and 'open my eyes', which confirms that [she] has been practising witchcraft to my detriment."

His ex-wife denies the witchcraft allegations.

"I deny that I practise witchcraft rituals ... [the minister] and I attended upon [sic] our Roman Catholic priest in early 2010 due to anonymous threats which we both received via SMS. I sprinkled holy water and salt in the house, lit candles and prayed," she said.

"This can be the only ritual to which [he] is referring. Contrary to the allegations that I practise witchcraft, I point out that [the minister's] sister is in fact a sangoma."

The minister strongly denies that his sister is a sangoma.

He also accuses his ex-wife of illegally accessing his phone using "a Vodacom contact".

"[She] hired the help of a third party working for Vodacom in Durban to infiltrate my phone ... Upon investigation Vodacom confirmed that this person had successfully hacked into my phone and stored the information on his phone ...

"Vodacom managed to block the third party's phone, suspended him and thereafter dismissed him from work."

According to the divorce documents, one of the main reasons for the divorce taking four years to finalise is the minister "literally taking years to produce the evaluation of his pension" - the main asset in the matter.

The minister and his former wife were married in community of property. In the settlement, the court orders the minister to pay his former wife R1-million.

The divorce battle included a protection order obtained by the wife from the Wynberg domestic violence court on June 5 2010.

The court ordered the minister, who earns a salary of more than R100000 a month, to pay "emergency monetary relief" to his former wife.