Nkomazi municipality wins valuation battle against luxury estate

They might have won the battle, but the war is far from over.

After a decade and a half of legal battles, the Nkomazi Local Municipality (NLM), in February 2026, scored a major victory against business mogul and South African billionaire Johann Rupert and his illustrious Leopard Creek Estate, reports Lowvelder.

The ‘David versus Goliath’ legal battle between cash-strapped NLM and the estate came about in 2011 when the municipality re-evaluated the property, increasing its municipal valuation from R33m to R1.4b.

At the time, there was an agreement between the former Malelane Transitional Local Council (MTLC) and Leopard Creek Estate, dating back to 1996, where the rates and taxes were fixed at an annual amount of R35 000.

This agreement was reached despite Leopard Creek’s market value, which was millions of rands higher than the 1996-2011 valuation of R33m.

The MTLC agreed to a massively discounted rate due to the prospect of Leopard Creek drawing major investments to the area.

In 2011 a decision was made by NLM to bring the Municipal Property Rates Act (6 of 2004) into effect.

Leopard Creek Estate, situated on the banks of the Crocodile River overlooking the Kruger National Park, is an exclusive 355ha private residential golf estate and nature reserve. It boasts an 18-hole golf course designed by Gary Player.

The property includes, among others, a 3 600m² clubhouse and 97 residential sites. Rupert personally owns 50 stands, giving him multiple-memberships in Leopard Creek Share Block Ltd. Leopard Creek Investments holds the remaining 47 stands.

When Leopard Creek Estate challenged the 2011 council decision before the Valuation Appeal Board of Ehlanzeni (VAB), the board upheld the NLM’s valuation.

During litigation, Leopard Creek Estate threw its financial resources into an application before the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela.

In April 2023, the court set aside the NLM valuation and ordered the municipality to recalculate it, prompting the municipality to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality.

In November 2024 the SCA upheld the Mpumalanga High Court ruling and ordered that a new VAB should do the property valuation.

In a written order issued on February 13, the newly-appointed five-member VAB rejected the R33m valuation. The board found the amount, provided by Leopard Creek-appointed valuator Norman Griffiths, represents the investment or development values rather than market value.

On Tuesday, the NLM spokesperson, Cyril Rapinga, said the municipality received a notification from Webber Wentzel, Rupert and Leopard Creek Estate’s attorneys, of their intention to appeal the VAB findings.

Webber Wentzel’s Igno Gouws confirmed that a review application of the VAB findings has been filed.

Rapinga said Leopard Creek Estate’s monthly rates and taxes account is up to date.

Fears that the millions of rands in legal fees could be a ‘fruitless and wasteful expenditure’ were highlighted in November 2025 by NLM’s municipal public accounts committee.

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