IN RE GONYORA 2001 (2) ZLR 573 (H)

Flynote

Family law ” child ” guardianship ” application to juvenile court in terms of s 9 of Guardianship of Minors Act [Chapter 5:08] ” need C for extensive enquiry when application is contested ” principles on which guardianship to be awarded ” need to avoid uprooting child except for sound reasons ” review of proceedings ” need for juvenile court to provide written reasons for decision.

Headnote

The applicant was the maternal grandmother of a six-year-old boy whose parents had D both died within six months of each other. The boy's mother had left him in the applicant's care and he had been with her since then, a period of about eight months. She applied to a juvenile court in terms of s 9 of the Guardianship of Minors Act [Chapter 5:08] to be appointed the boy's guardian, but her application was opposed by his paternal uncle, who was a medical doctor and had been appointed executor of the boy's father's estate. The juvenile court awarded him guardianship of the boy, but gave no written reasons for its decision. E

Held, that the record of proceedings of a juvenile court which is submitted to the High Court for review in terms of s 9(4) of the Guardianship of Minors Act [Chapter 5:08] must include written reasons for the court's decision. Without a record and written reasons for the decision the High Court cannot carry out its review powers to determine whether the proceedings were in accordance with justice.

Held, further, that the juvenile court should have taken into consideration the principles that bear on the child's best interests, the first of which is that a minor child should F not be uprooted except for sound reasons. A more extensive enquiry was required, in which other relatives should be given an opportunity to seek the boy's guardianship.