The ex-partner of the late former deputy president David “DD” Mabuza has obtained an urgent high court order compelling the appointment of an independent interim curator to manage his estate and ensure interim financial support for his dependent children.
The order was issued by the Mbombela High Court’s Deputy Judge President Takalani Ratshibvumo after an application by Emunah Silinda, formerly known as Ruth Funi Silinda, and her daughter Tamara Silinda.
At the centre of the matter is a dispute over the administration of Mabuza’s estate and the absence of a neutral mechanism to ensure that dependent beneficiaries are maintained while contestation over the estate continues.
Payment of educational expenses
In its ruling, the court directed the master of the high court in Mbombela to appoint “a neutral and independent interim curator to the estate of the late David Dabede Mabuza within five court days of the date of this order”.
The court said the interim curator will operate under the supervision of the master and exercise powers solely for purposes of interim maintenance.
Those powers include considering requests for interim maintenance by dependent children and beneficiaries in need of assistance, releasing money or movable property necessary to provide for the subsistence of the deceased’s household, and safeguarding the assets of the estate pending final administration.
In a decisive safeguard against premature inheritance claims, the court ruled that “any payment made in terms of this order shall constitute interim maintenance only and shall not amount to a distribution of the deceased estate, nor shall it determine or prejudice the rights of any beneficiary, heir, spouse or creditor”.
The order further authorises the interim curator, as a matter of priority, to process and pay dependent children’s educational expenses directly to relevant institutions within five days of appointment, subject to the availability of liquid funds in the estate.
Relief extends beyond Silinda’s child
To centralise financial control, the court ordered that an Estate Late bank account be opened in terms of Section 28 of the Administration of Estates Act and that all monies presently held in the deceased’s personal bank accounts be transferred into that account.
Crucially, the court clarified that the relief extends beyond Silinda’s child.
“The interim maintenance relief granted herein is declared not to be limited to the second applicant but to operate for the benefit of all dependent beneficiaries of the deceased estate,” the order states.
The interim curator must, once appointed, furnish security to the satisfaction of the master in accordance with the Administration of Estates Act, unless the master determines otherwise.
The relief was granted without prejudice to the appointment of a permanent executor, the final administration and distribution of the estate, or any pending or future proceedings relating to it.
Mabuza, who served as South Africa’s deputy president between 2018 and 2023, died in July 2025 after a period of illness.
