Mandela grandson wins fight over house
NELSON Mandela's grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, scored a victory yesterday when a court awarded him legal rights to his late father's Orlando East, Soweto, property.
The 33-year-old chief at Mvezo in Qunu won the rights to the house in a dissenting judgment in the Gauteng Housing Adjudication Board when two of the three adjudicators ruled in his favour.
This comes after Zwelivelile's cousin, Ema Ngcongolo, dragged him before the board, challenging his efforts to evict her and her family.
Ngcongolo, 49, who has been living on the property for the past 18 years, claimed that Zwelivelile's late father, Makgatho Mandela, gave her permission to occupy the house indefinitely in a verbal agreement in 1991.
Makgatho died in January 2005, and Zwelivelile attempted to evict her eight months later.
He testified earlier that his father's intentions were to evict the Ngcongolos. He said his father was enraged that the Ngcongolos had renovated the property, paved the driveway, built a perimeter wall and erected a spaza shop without his consent.
A court initially ruled in Zwelivelile's favour in September last year but Ngcongolo appealed. Two of the board adjudicators yesterday ruled that Ngcongolo's claims that Makgatho had given her the house were never formalised.
The court found that Ngcongolo had been given permission to temporarily occupy the property but that it was neither a gift or donation. They also found that Makgatho had completed and signed an application for a title deed in 2003, requesting for the property to be transferred into his name.
Ngcongolo had never challenged this application.
Ngcongolo said she was waiting for her lawyers to give her instructions on a way forward.
"They will decide what steps I should take," she said.
Panyaaza
uZwelivelile is just greedy maan,sure he doesn't need landlu.He just want to show then that he's the man,rhaa!uyabora shameReport Abuse
SHAKA
It is his right to fight for what belongs to him - yes he is chief, but that house deifnately has sentimental values, I mean it is his father's house and where he spent most of his childhood life - imagine if your father dies and a relative just come with a whole lot of kids and extended family and decided to renovate the house, build some tuckshop and sell alcohol.....YERRR chasing them is an understatement - I WOULD KICK THEM OUT!!Report Abuse
gigolo
@SHAKA, was he the sole beneficiary to the house? He is greedy, he doesn't need that house surely he should have let them stay in it and how many houses must the mandelas turn into museums? I would hate to be related to you and be the desperate one for that matter, if he is taking his father's house why then did he take money from SABC for his grandfather's funeral who is not even dead by the way? Would you not say everything he does is in the name of greed? How else are they suppose to survive?Report Abuse
gigolo
@SHAKA, was he the sole beneficiary to the house? He is greedy, he doesn't need that house surely he should have let them stay in it and how many houses must the mandelas turn into museums? I would hate to be related to you and be the desperate one for that matter, if he is taking his father's house why then did he take money from SABC for his grandfather's funeral who is not even dead by the way? Would you not say everything he does is in the name of greed? How else are they suppose to survive?Report Abuse
DUNDUS
AO CHIEF!!!!!! THOSE PEOPLE REALLY NEEDED THE HOUSE MORE THAN YOU. sIES U GREEDY fu@#$%kReport Abuse
SHAKA
Hau Gigolo?!?!?!Tell me something, where were they all along when the Mandela's were subject to persecution???? You can't just come out of nowhere, claim to be a distant relative and take ownership of my house and to top it all, drag me before the board!!! Uyadelela u-Emma, uMandla must not only have an eviction order agaist her, she must just never set foot there again
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nhanha
i agree with shaka 100%. the house belongs to Chief, so chief must have it. how lucky are they that they want the house given to them. they must apply for an RDP house and move out of the Chief's. and it's not about how many houses the chief has, its about what belongs to themReport Abuse
chungu
people this is a family house we can say what ever we want to say the fact remain that its a family house. if you hear what this woman says they had verbal agreement which shows you that Makgatho know that he never followed proper procedure this woman she was suppose to have a title deed.Report Abuse