Police halt attempted eviction of widow

ALEXANDRA - A granny and widow was saved from spending last night in the cold by the Alexandra police who thwarted an attempt to evict her from her home of over 40 years.

July 10, 2014

Leseho Manala 1 minute read

Part of the Kelinah's Mabaso's house where hired men were stopped by police after removing part of the roof.

A widowed granny was saved from spending the night of 10 July in the cold by Alexandra police who thwarted an apparent attempt to evict her from her home of more than 40 years.

Kelinah Mabaso (67) of 15th Avenue was a victim of an attempted eviction from her well-furnished eight-roomed house by a business family which claim to be the property owners.

Mabaso said the alleged attempt to get her out of her home had been brewing for years. She claimed that the feud had led to her husband’s death from a stroke because of the stress created from the dispute.

Kelinah Mabaso (67) expresses her anguish at the alleged attempted eviction by a neighbour she has shared the stand with for close to 50 years.

Mabaso was alerted about the attempted eviction by her granddaughter who was in the kitchen and heard noises on the roof. She saw men removing the sheeting purportedly with orders from the Modipa family who claim to be the stand and property owners.

Mambaso and her daughter, Brenda Mabaso then reported the incident to Alexandra police who ordered the eviction action to be stopped pending the resolution of the matter by legal representatives of the two families.

A representative of the Mabaso family, Buhle Xaba said the Modipa family’s legal advisers had sent a letter to the Mabaso’s and three other families to vacate the premises. He said the other families had vacated the premises, but the Mabaso family refused as they have a residence permit for part of the stand, and any eviction notice should be issued only by a court order.

Xaba added that the saga could be attributed to the ongoing delay by government to resolve the land and property ownership of the area since land claims were lodged more than 15 years ago.

Meanwhile, Mabaso said while the police had ordered the Modipa family to restore her house, they had not done so and she would be lodging a case of malicious damage to property.

Johannes Modipa, the claimed landowner could not be reached for comment.