Widow is still in the dark about her ‘divorce’
The widow of Hendrik Lubbe who died on August 15, still does not have answers as to how she and her husband of 50 years were divorced without her knowledge
A month after his death, the widow of Hendrik Lubbe who died on August 15, still does not have answers as to how she and her husband of 50 years were divorced without her knowledge.
Laurette Lubbe and her daughter, Sanet van Deventer, went to the department of home affairs for her husband’s death certificate where she received the shocking news that her husband was listed as divorced at the time of his death. An official told them that the divorce had been registered on September 14, 2001.
“My parents were never divorced and they were happily married.
This mistake is causing my mother a lot of heartache and we want this error rectified immediately, but we are not getting any help from home affairs. Someone from home affairs called me on August 21, and I never heard from them again. We want answers as to how this happened and how it will be fixed,” Van Deventer said.
Florah Motsitsi, home affairs provincial manager, said according to their records the divorce took place in Johannesburg on September 14, 2001.
“We will be able to provide Mrs Lubbe with a copy of the decree of divorce as soon as we are provided with a copy by our head office. In the meantime, I suggest that a search for the court record be done at the High Court in Johannesburg to verify if this divorce ever took place,” Motsitsi said.
She added that, if the decree was fraudulent, Lubbe must submit an affidavit to the department, which would then be handed to the police so that the matter could be investigated as a case of fraud.
“Depending on the outcome of the criminal investigation, the department will amend or confirm the status,” Motsitsi concluded.
