Judge Willie Hartzenberg, in the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa

“ The Master of the high court is the sixth respondent and the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development is the seventh respondent. The first respondent regards the second- and third respondents as the lawful heirs of the deceased in terms of section 1 of the Act.
[3] The applicant prays for a declaratory order that section 1 (1) of the Act is inconsistent with the Constitution, and that the words "or partner in a same-sex partnership in which the partners have undertaken reciprocal duties of support" are to be read into the section, after the word "spouse" wherever it appears. ”

“ Their argument that the applicant's offer to buy the property on the basis that he is the owner of an undivided half share thereof contradicts his allegation that he is the heir is not correct. He claimed all along that he was the heir. Although he acceded to the first respondent's demands to hand over the movables and to move out of the property it was never accepted by him that he is not the heir. If he owned half of the property and he is the heir he inherits half of the property. If the property belonged to the deceased alone and he is the heir he inherits the whole property. ”

“ They also rely on the opinion on which the first respondent relies. The first respondent assisted them to fill out the forms to give notice of death to the Master. They deny that the deceased and the applicant were lifelong same-sex partners because they could not get married legally and did not go through a marriage ceremony. They contend that even if the deceased and the applicant committed themselves to one another the relationship was not necessarily a marriage but could have been an engagement. ”