Four year legal battle over land claim funds
A land claim was lodged in 1996 by the late Chief Khayelihle Mathaba, after 184 families were removed from their land in 1976
A four-year battle over stolen money from a community trust in the north of the Tugela River ended with the Durban High Court removing 10 of the trustees involved.
The Bhekamafa Community Trust was formed in 1998 by the late Chief Khayelihle Mathaba, who used the land for sugarcane farming after a successful land claim.
According to one of the trust members, Zamokwakhe Magagula, a land claim was lodged in 1996 by Mathaba, after 184 families were removed from their land in 1976.
“These families were removed from Mengeza, Mangethe, Falethu, Nyathini, Ngqofela and Tugela Beach and sent to Wangu, near Macambini which is 17 km north of Mandeni town.”
However, after the land claim was successful the trustees failed to run the farm properly and decided to lease 565 hectares to Tongaat Hulett.
The agreement was that Tongaat Hulett was going to pay the money into the trust’s account.
When the committee, led by Mathaba, had reached the end of their five-year term of office, a new committee was elected.
It was then that things started to go wrong.
The trustees who were removed were: Jeffrey Sibusiso Mndaba, Don Mthimkhulu, Nkosinathi Ndlovu, Thamsanqa Patrick Ndlovu, Jabulani Meshek Ndlovu, Sphelele Godsgreat Msane, Thobile Rejina Mhlongo, Sipho Prince Dube, Nimrod Ndlovu and Philani Mdletshe.
“When the new committee was appointed, there was about R1.7 million available in the trust account to be paid to the 184 families. However only half of them received a payment of R2 000 each,” said Magagula.
After consulting with Tongaat Hulett, trust members realised that money was being stolen and took the trustees to the high court.
The trust members asked the court to instruct Tongaat Hulett not to pay money into the trust bank account but it must be paid into the bank account of their lawyers as an interim measure.
“Going forward, once the matter has been resolved, we would like the payments to be made directly to the members of the trust accounts.”
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