Shofeeds owners Pieter Tolmay and Elko Hentschel have taken possession of Lowhills Farm following a lengthy legal battle with former occupant Johann Möller.

Since February 2020, when the Parys-based company bought Lowhills at a liquidation auction, its owners have been locked in a dispute with Möller.

Since the auction, Möller refused to vacate the farm, claiming, among other things, that the property still belonged to him and arguing that Pieriesfontein, the company that owned Lowhills, was illegally liquidated.

Elephant controversy

Throughout the years of legal battles, Möller and his life partner, Sonell Joubert, occupied the farm unlawfully.

Joubert and her elephant, Tswale, which she kept on the farm for public interaction, became embroiled in controversy when Shofeeds obtained a court order for the animal’s removal.

Read: Tswale the elephant: Shofeeds’ lawyers seek to ‘set record straight’

The elephant was eventually confiscated by the Mpumalanga Tourism and Park Agency and relocated to the Bellevue Forest Reserve in the Eastern Cape.

New owners occupy farm

A final court order instructing Möller and Joubert to vacate Lowhills by September 30 was issued earlier this month.

Shofeeds’ lawyer, Stefan Scheepers, confirmed that Tolmay and Hentschel are currently on the farm. Scheepers said Möller and Joubert vacated the property when Tolmay and Hentschel arrived.

WhatsApp messages sent to Möller by Lowvelder to establish where the couple had relocated were read but not answered.