Palimoney pastor gets R7 000pm
2002-09-12 08:50
Fantie van der Westhuizen
Johannesburg - The estranged wife of the former minister of a Springs congregation of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AGS), has been ordered to pay him R7 000 a month in alimony.
Johannes Swart left his wife, Adri, to move in with a fellow minister, Pastor Phillip Liebenberg of the Melville AGS ministry, according to court documents.
Mrs Swart alleged in an affidavit in the Johannesburg High Court that Liebenberg and her estranged husband had been involved in a extra-marital relationship for the past five years. This had made it impossible for her to continue with the marriage. The couple have been living apart since July.
She said: "He persists in his relationship with Liebenberg, despite counselling and promises to end the relationship and to give his full attention to the marriage."
She said her husband had phoned Liebenberg up to six times a day and sent 23 SMS messages.
She said Swart had resigned as minister of the Strubenvale congregation because "he was no longer prepared to live the double life of, on the one hand, being in a relationship with Liebenberg, who openly admits his homosexuality, and, on the other, being the minister of a congregation in an organisation that does not accept this".
In his affidavit, Swart said he and Liebenberg were now living together in Liebenberg's Melville apartment.
Documents stated that Mrs Swart was a successful insurance broker, who earned up to R20 000 a month after deductions.
Mr Swart said in his affidavit that he was under "great pressure" from his wife's legal representatives because Liebenberg is "allegedly homosexual and has homosexual people in his congregation in Melville".
Mr Swart has served divorce papers on his wife. She, in turn, is claiming more than R400 000 from Liebenberg for allegedly committing adultery.
Judge G M Makhanya also ordered Mrs Swart during her husband's application for interim alimony to contribute R5 000 towards Swart's legal costs. An order was also made, granting him access to their five-year-old child, who lived with Mrs Swart.
Mrs Swart said after the hearing she was shocked that her husband's application had been successful. "I am still in the dark about it. I have made an appointment with the guys who are handling it to find out what happened there."
She was not surprised her husband had left her for another man. "No, I also made it clear in my court documents. It was a thing that had been going on for years. I was aware of it."
Rean Strydom appeared for Mrs Swart, while D A Louw appeared for Pastor Swart.