By Staff Reporter

SOUTH Africa based businessman, Frank Buyanga who is locked in a bitter tussle for the custody of his child with a former girlfriend, Chantelle Muteswa, has developed cold feet with regards to taking the child to South Africa.

Barely a week after filing an urgent chamber application with the High Court to compel Muteswa to release their son’s passport, Buyanga has reversed his decision.

He filed a notice of withdrawal on July 10 after Muteswa opposed his request.

“Be pleased to take notice that the applicant (Buyanga) hereby withdraws his urgent chamber application for a compelling order and tenders wasted costs,” said the businessman in his  notice of withdrawal.

Buyanga intended to travel with the minor in terms of the order of court of 17 April 2019 in which he was granted access by the civil court magistrate. According to Muteswa’s lawyer Munyaradzi Bwanya, the boy’s mother is scared the businessman wants to take the child away from the jurisdiction of local courts.

Buyanga in his notice said Muteswa, has made it clear that she will not release the passport despite the existence of the court order.

“The first respondent (Muteswa) has advised that she does not want to release the minor child’s passport as evidence by a letter from her legal practitioners. This I understand she is doing so in contempt of court because there is already a finding that she was in contempt of the order of the magistrates,” said Buyanga.

Her argument was based on the condition that the same court upheld her challenge against Buyanga travelling with the boy.

The couple entered into a memorandum of agreement of access for the minor child which was to be reduced into an order of access by consent.

On April 17 2019, the court varied the access order to include that upon exercising his rights, Muteswa should release the minor child’s passport to enable him to travel with the minor to South Africa.

After Buyanga was granted access, Muteswa filed an appeal to suspend the court order.

Buyanga says this was done to harass him.

The businessman then filed an application for execution pending appeal which application succeeded on June 11 2019.

But Muteswa was not yet done, she filed another application for review and another application for stay of execution as an urgent chamber application.

High court Judge Justice Jacob Manzunzu upheld her application thereby giving Muteswa interim relief to stay with the child until the case is settled.

Again, Buyanga appealed against Justice Manzunzu’s decision and after she was served with a notice of appeal, Muteswa allegedly told her ex-boyfriend that she did not want to release the passport.

Buyanga however still wants the child’s passport before returning to his business base.

“It is from this business that I realise monies for purposes to bankroll the financial needs of my son,” he said.

He says he also wants to have time with his son so that he nurtures father-son relationship.