Self-proclaimed psychic Deborah Govender, who was ordered to pay back her former client R5m earlier this year, has applied for leave to appeal a sequestration order against her.

The sequestration order was brought in March this year by Greytown, KZN, father and daughter, Vinesh and Kajal Aheer, after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ordered Govender to pay back R4 992 778.00 and R540 000, respectively, with costs.

Sequestration applies when a person is no longer able to pay their debts.

The Aheers were battling to cope with the 2015 loss of the matriarch of the family and were desperate for closure.

Kajal engaged the service of Govender, who described herself as a psychic in an advertisement on Gumtree in 2017.

Govender claimed to be able to connect with the dead and said she would connect and communicate with Kajal’s mother.

Problems arose when Govender allegedly started blackmailing Kajal in 2017 and claimed that several people wanted to harm her.

She then offered Kajal a solution and assured her that she would stop people from harming her by putting a spell on them. She allegedly demanded more money for protection.

The court heard that Govender, without Kajal’s knowledge, bought beauty salon La Vida Spa, which Kajal had intended to purchase while operating at the premises as a beauty therapist.

After the purchase, Kajal became Govender’s tenant and paid her a monthly rent.

Govender also allegedly demanded that Kajal buy her a Ford Mustang and continued to demand more money, threatening to expose intimate details about her life.

Kajal obtained a protection order against Govender and brought the matter to the high court.

On Thursday, Govender’s case was adjourned to May 16 to supplement her application for leave to appeal the sequestration order.