Three DNA Tests Later: High Court Confirms Western Cape Man Is the Father After 20 Years of Denial
In a significant ruling, the Western Cape High Court has dismissed an appeal by a man who sought to overturn a magistrate’s finding that he is the biological father of a child he has denied paternity of for more than two decades.
The man, whose identity is withheld to protect the child, represented himself and argued that it was never proven beyond reasonable doubt that he fathered the child.
A Case Stretching Back to 2001
According to IOL, the long-running dispute dates to 2001, when an initial paternity test indicated that the man was not the father.
Fifteen years later, in 2016, the child’s mother approached the maintenance court seeking financial support. She insisted he was the biological father and requested a formal ruling.
Because the first test had been conducted at a non-accredited facility, it could not be relied on in court. This led to multiple court-ordered paternity tests over several years.
Four Different Magistrates, Three Paternity Tests
A second accredited test was performed in April 2017 — and this time, it concluded the man was the father.
Despite this, a second magistrate inexplicably ordered a third test, done in December 2019, which again showed he was the biological father.
Before the court could finalise the matter, that magistrate recused himself. A third magistrate took over and called for yet another — a fourth — test, though the reasons were unclear.
The man challenged this decision, leading to the matter being assigned to a fourth magistrate, who ruled that no additional testing was required and that the court would rely on the existing evidence.
The magistrate ultimately ruled that the man was indeed the father.
Man Challenges Admissibility of DNA Tests
Dissatisfied, the man approached the Western Cape High Court, arguing:
- The DNA tests were never properly submitted into evidence
- Expert testimony was required to validate the results
- The tests were conducted by laboratories outside the Western Cape
- The results allegedly used the wrong population group for comparison
He maintained that although he knew the child’s mother in the late 1990s, they were never in a romantic relationship. He said she used to frequent his bar but was banned after allegedly stealing a photo. He insisted he never saw her again until she resurfaced in 2001 claiming he was the father of her four-month-old child.
The mother, despite inconsistencies in her timeline, remained firm that they were intimate in August 2000 — the month she believed the child was conceived.
High Court: DNA Results “Well-Known Scientific Tools”
The High Court found that even if the maintenance court had erred in how it assessed the admissibility of the paternity tests, the final conclusion was correct.
It held that the second and third DNA tests indicated a high probability that the man was the father.
“DNA tests are relatively well-known scientific tools and have some prima facie value,” the court noted in its findings.
The man’s appeal was dismissed, confirming the earlier ruling that he is the biological father.