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·      Eminah Silinda (59) and her daughter, Tamara, want David Mabuza’s wife removed as sole beneficiary of the Alexander Forbes policy ·      They want all of Mabuza’s dependant to beneft from the R44.7 million ·      The Mpumalanga High Court needs more evidence from Alexander Forbes

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Sizwe sama Yende

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The Mpumalanga High Court has reserved judgment in an application by former deputy president David Mabuza’s estranged wife to interdict the payout of a R44.7 million living annuity.

Eminah Silinda (59) and her daughter she had with Mabuza, Tamara Silinda (25), approached the court to stay the nomination of Mabuza’s wife, Patience Mnisi, as the sole beneficiary of the living annuity and to review and set aside the decision to allocate the total death benefit to her.   

Silinda claims she married Mabuza customarily and they did not divorce when they decided to lead separate lives. Mabuza had seven children when he died on July 3, 2025, aged 65.

However, there could be more children that are not yet publicly known. Mnisi has one daughter (21 years old) with Mabuza.

The court reserved judgment until September 30 to allow Alexander Forbes Investments to file papers explaining certain aspects of the policy and for Silinda to give clarity on certain matters.

Mnisi has declined to comment on the matter, leaving everything in the court’s hands.

Mabuza's sister, Zandile, thanked Tamara Silinda for approaching the court. "My brother's kids, all of them, must get a fair share of their father's estate. We give special thanks to Tamara. Without her, this money would have been paid and gone," she said.

"I pray to God that the outcome will be positive to the kids. I want justice for all of them," Zandile added.

Mnisi and Mabuza were never married. According to Silinda’s court papers, Mnisi obtained a marriage certificate after Mabuza had died. Silinda is questioning this in the court papers.

“The fund has not done its work and correctly. They need to have due diligence. It means that when I put money in Alexander Forbes and die, they are not going to make an investigation,” Silinda representative, Advocate DJ Sibuyi, argued.

Home Affairs could have posthumously granted the marriage certificate to Mnisi because they were married under customary law.

There is already case law on customary marriages that were not registered at Home Affairs when both spouses were alive.

Judge Nomahlubi Khwinana ordered on 12 January 2024 in the Pretoria High Court that customary marriages could be registered posthumously under section 4 of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998.

Khwinana issued the order following an application by Tshilidzi Petronella Khashane to register her customary marriage after the death of her husband, Nditsheni Samuel Mutswari.

Khwinana remarked: “This judgment holds significance for the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Justice, Deputy Minister of Constitutional Development, and the South African Law Reform Commission to ponder. It underscores the need to consider the registration of customary marriages, particularly in situations involving the death of one spouse or when one family refuses to acknowledge the marriage.”

Silinda demands that Alexander Forbes should not pay out the benefit to Mnisi and the money should be kept in an interest-bearing account pending a court order reviewing and setting aside Mnisi as a 100 per cent beneficiary.

She also want the court to order that the amount be equally distributed among Mabuza’s legal dependents.

Silinda demands that Alexander Forbes Financial Services (Pty) Ltd pays Tamara’s tuition fees of R127 990 at University of Cape Town where she is studying medicine. Silinda also wants R40 000 monthly to cover Tamara’s necessities such as clothing, transport, and medical expenses.

Silinda has provided evidence indicating that Mabuza did look after Tamara financially and had made her a beneficiary of his medical aid.