All this 76-year-old pensioner is waiting for now, is the official title deed to her home situated in Vergenoeg.
Manare made her first appearance in the African Reporter last year July after having put numerous complainants through to the KwaThema office, as she had no title deed to her home while someone else claimed he owned it.
“I started suspecting that there was a problem in 1998 when letters would be delivered to my address, with my stand number but in someone else’s name.
“At the time, the only thing my husband and I had were permits issued to us in 1973 but no title deed which made me shake in my boots,” she says.
Gogo claims that during her quest to find answers, she was taken from pillar to post, until she finally came across Joseph Cindi (74) of Uncedo Community Developers and Information Centre who offered to help her.
“At some point during this process things got so bad that I even had to go to the police station for affidavits just to be able to bury my children and husband who died 2012 in my own home.
“To make matters worse, when my husband died, the house was in his name and the office officials then, had told us they would call so we could collect our title deed, which never happened,” she shares.
What puzzled Manare the most, was that if the title deed was issued to the person who claimed to have bought the house in 1998, why had they never come forward until 2014 after the death of her husband?
“This person came with the police and I was told to sign papers which stated I should move out.
“I refused to sign them. Then in February last year I got an eviction letter from the sheriff and that is where I went to the Department of Housing to ask how it was possible that someone I did not even know could have papers to my house, while I didn’t,” she adds.
In 2015 as gogo started going to court this man who had her title deed was not going, but only sending his lawyer.
And it was during this entire process she discovered this man had two other houses in Tsakane which showed that this was just a dodgy character.
“After the case was remanded about seven times, almost being evicted from my house and running around, I thank God that I finally won this case.
“God gave me the strength and courage to fight as now I am even stronger as sometimes I would be stressed by my situation and the expenses it imposed on my budget, but now I feel as though something has been lifted of my shoulders,” she emphasised.
Manare still asks herself how someone not living in your yard was able to obtain her title deed, while she – the owner – did not have it.
Gogo is set to get her title deed from the Department of Housing in November.
Cindi says he is just happy he could help Manare get what is rightfully hers as it’s not the first time they have heard of such cases, which is why they opted to help.
“I and am glad our running around has paid off,” says Cindi.
