Court rejects man's claim to long-standing lover's estate

A MAN who claimed to be in a customary marriage with a woman, who died in 2023, has been denied a claim to her estate as the children of his partner dispute the marriage and produced a will that did not include him.

- NOMONDE ZONDI

The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, dismissed Phillip Botha Mogase’s claim with costs. Mogase had told the court that he was entitled to inherit the estate of his long-time lover and wife, Ntipo Modiga, who died in June 2023.

Mogase said he and Modiga entered a customary union on December 16, 2009, after being together from 2007. However, Modiga’s children, Patrick Modiga and Keitumetse Rafedile, disputed the marriage but admitted that the pair was in a long-standing relationship.