Maintenance in spotlight

Michelline Nawatises
Alina Hekandjo

Law group, Aristotle and Partners, comprising of fourth-year Unam law students, hosted their legal aid impact project in the community of Havana recently.

Their topic was child maintenance and they invited the Havana community to come and receive information concerning child maintenance, as many children have no support from their parents.

The community turned up in their numbers to come and listen to what the group had to say.

They gave information on how to claim maintenance, what it is and how both parents are responsible for their children.

They also informed the community about how pregnant women can also claim for maintenance.

They outlined the procedures, which involve approaching the Maintenance Court at the Katutura Magistrate’s Court, and also gave information on the various types of maintenance claim forms.

A parent must pay maintenance until the child’s 18th birthday. However, if the child attends university from the ages of 19 to 21, parents must still pay maintenance

The group also outlined what options are available is maintenance is not paid.

They emphasised that a parent must pay maintenance for a disabled child.

They informed the community of the various crimes in terms of maintenance, such as lying, delaying the process, trying to stop a person from making a maintenance claim, as well as ignoring a maintenance order.

The project was a huge success and community asked some tough questions, in order to gain a better understanding.

Among the questions was what would happen in the case where both parents do not have any form of identification for them or the child and what happens when a parent is refuses to pay maintenance.

The community was given refreshments, as well as lunch, after the presentation.

*Alina Hekandjo is a 22-year-old final year law student at the University of Namibia (Unam) and her interests include helping others, teamwork, taking on challenges that can help the country as well gaining much knowledge on the law of the country and globally.