Feud leaves families homeless
Three District Six families, including a frail 73-year-old pensioner, were left homeless on Tuesday as a long-standing family feud reached boiling point.
“I wonder how my uncle will sleep at night knowing his brother won’t have a place to sleep tonight,” said Pontac Street resident Anwa Essop after he and his father, 73-year-old Ahmed Essop, were among the people evicted, allegedly on his uncle’s instructions, on Tuesday. The eviction was preceded by a long-running battle among Essop family members over 16 cottages left by their late father, Mohamed Omar Essop, to his eight sons.
A trust was set up to administer the property situated between Nelson, Pontac and Aspeling streets, and family member Dr Omar Mohamed was named sole trustee, according to those evicted on Tuesday. They said Mohamed, the brother of Ahmed and Anwa Essop’s uncle, instructed their eviction because he wanted to sell the land to make way for a property development.
However, they insisted he should not be allowed to sell the property as the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) had declared it a heritage site. “You cannot just break down heritage property,” they said.
Dr Mohamed said on Tuesday the decision to evict his family members was made by the court.
“After 40 years the judge has decided this is the best course of action,” he said.
Earlier, his distraught family members watched as deputy sheriff of the court Gordon Bagley and his workers removed the Essops’ furniture and clothes. Bagley said he was executing a court order made on November 12.
As he helped clear the house he and his family have called home for the past 35 years, Anwa Essop said: “I am devastated. It’s like the carpet has just been pulled from under my feet.”
Unsure where he would spend the night, Essop said he was shocked that his uncle had shown no humanity towards his own family. His daughter was traumatised but Essop said he was also concerned about his father, Ahmed Essop, who had spent a month in hospital after a heart attack because of the ongoing eviction battle.
Ahmed Essop’s wife, Gairo Essop, 72, could not hold back her tears as she relived the pain she felt when she was among 66 000 people evicted from District Six by the apartheid regime. She said her son-in-law would provide temporary shelter for her and her husband.
Their daughter-in-law, Doulla Philander, did not know where she and her husband would spend the night. “My husband and I might have to sleep outside, under the stars,” she said. Their two daughters would spend the night at their grandmother’s house, she said.
Dr Mohamed said the next phase of the court order was to find them accommodation. “After the estate is sold the proceeds will be distributed to them, equitably,” he said.
His statement received an angry response from Gairo Essop who said they wanted their homes and not money. - Cape Times
Next generation: The College of Fellows presented its Young Researcher Awards at the College of Fellows dinner. Here with vice-chancellor Dr Max Price (centre) were honoured Dr Shadreck Chirikure, Dr Gina Ziervogel, Dr Elmi Muller, Assoc Prof Genevieve Langdon, Dr Jo-Ann Passmore and Dr Amanda Weltman.
Pinups: With their winning posters are creators (from left) Gillian de Villiers (molecular and cellular biology), Shadreck Chirikure (archaeology), and Prof David Jacobs (zoology).
Dr Shadreck Chirikure