Durban - A KwaMashu woman claims a house owned by her father was being used by illegal tenants.
Sthandwa Mkhize, 37, said she was forced to live with relatives because the house was burnt down and left with a municipal utility bill of almost R200 000. She said she had recently learnt the bill had not been paid since 2017. Mkhize said after her father’s death in 1998, she moved in with her mother in Pietermaritzburg.
She said in 2015 neighbours told her a woman, Thobile Mbhele, had moved in, claiming she had bought the property from Mkhize’s uncle. Mkhize took the matter to court and was granted an eviction order.
Mkhize said when she received a bill from the municipality for over R100 000 she got worried. “When I got to my father’s house I realised that there was someone living on the premises.”
Mkhize said Sibusiso Mabika, a police officer who had moved into the house, told her that he was renting it. “Since 2017 it has been a battle to get rid of this officer. I learned that the house had been set on fire allegedly by the officer’s girlfriend. I have tried to report him to his superiors, but nothing was done.
They refused to open a case against him.”
Mabika said he was not responsible for the utility bills and the fire damage since he was a tenant at the time. “I was approached by Sphiwe Mbatha, (Thobile’s brother) who told me that I can rent the place for R800 per month because it was vacant and had become a home to vagrants.” Mabika said the R800 was meant for water, electricity and rent.
Mbatha, the alleged landlord, confirmed that Mabika had been asked to occupy the house since it had invited criminals. “In my understanding, my sister (Thobile) had bought the house and we felt it was within our power to take care of the house in her absence since she no longer stays on the premises,” he said. Mbatha said he knew nothing about his sister being evicted.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE