A 91-year-old Durban multimillionaire racehorse owner and businessman has fought off a bid by his children and brother, Robin, to appoint a curator to handle his financial affairs.

The relatives of Des Scott claim he is suffering from dementia, that his second wife, Jacky, is siphoning off his money, neglecting him and preventing them from seeing him, notes a TimesLIVE report.

In an affidavit he said that though he is 91, he is perfectly capable of handling his own affairs with the assistance of a ‘trusted group’ of financial, legal and medical advisers, and that he is perfectly happy with his wife, Jacqueline Barrington, whom he refers to as Jacky.

KZN High Court (Durban) Judge Mahendra Chetty has ruled in his favour, saying that though the family claimed they were acting in his best interests, their animosity towards Jacky was clear and they appeared to be driven by a desire to protect their inheritance.

The litigation was launched on an urgent basis in July last year.

Scott, in his affidavits, was adamant he wanted to ‘live out his years’ in the flat in La Lucia that has been his home for 44 years. He said he was ‘of sound mind’ and able to make his own decisions, and there was no basis for his children to suggest otherwise.

‘I am upset that my children have resorted to this litigation. I have been very generous to them. I love them and will always love them. But I think that they do not respect my privacy, autonomy, choice of soulmate and the decisions I make. I am perfectly happy with the medical treatment I receive… I remain deeply in love with my wife, who, I believe, reciprocates my feelings.’

Chetty said Scott’s remarks were ‘sincere’ and were an honest expression of his anguish.

Regarding his children, the judge said much of their bitterness was reserved for Jacky, who is 35 years younger than their father and who, they claim, married him ‘clandestinely’ in 2018.

‘They allege she ill-treats and abuses him, while at the same time mysteriously siphoning large parts of his fortune. The papers are replete with allegations of mistreatment by (Jacky), that she causes him to live in appalling conditions and to wear tattered clothing, despite him being a wealthy man. They also accuse her of controlling his finances.’

A sticking point in their argument that their father was of unsound mind and on his ‘deathbed’, notes TimesLIVE, was that Scott’s brother acknowledged he had signed an agreement allowing for the sale of the stud farm for R34m, just two months before the court action in which they claimed he was possibly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

‘Even if I accept he has an Alzheimer’s type of dementia, I am of the view that this is not enough to conclude that he is incapable of managing his affairs,’ Chetty said, dismissing the application and directing the family to pay costs on a punitive scale.

Full TimesLIVE report