A former public school which is now the premises of United Christian Church is at the centre of a row between a family and South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) linked activists over its ownership and use.
The former Ikage Primary School on 13th Avenue was bought and converted into a church by the family who rented its backrooms and hired them out to other churches and groups.
The activists, who instead call it a community centre, are led by former chairperson of the Alex Police Forum, Bulldog Rathokolo. The row, which may still be destined to end up in court, has got the attention of area councillor Adolph Marema who determined from the Deeds Office records that the property is registered in the name of the church.
Marema claimed the stand was bought for R4 800 by the late family patriarch during the apartheid era. “Like all other properties in Alex, its title deed was expropriated by that government and is pending handover to its rightful owner after the resolution of any contest,” Marema said.
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“The stand [church premises] is part of several church-owned properties among thousands still to be handed back to their rightful owners,” Marema added stressing that he informed the family and those contesting accordingly.
“If they still persist, then the law should take its course.”
He advised the family to approach the relevant authorities if the dispute persists and urged them to resolve all legalities on the stand, particularly the registration of the property in the name of their heir.
This said in reference to family squabbles said to have led to the neglect of the property which prompted the family to bring in the activists on a caretaker basis. In the process, it’s alleged the group received revenue from hiring out the premises and its outbuildings and allegedly channelled the money to a fellow member’s account. Marema said this was a fraud and added, “I advised that the money should be used by those renting to pay for identified improvements at the facility and the balance saved.”
Rathokolo said they took over the dilapidated property in 1989. “It should be converted into a community centre and library where children can study and the community hold meetings,” he said, adding that they knew the family’s late grandfather to have been a caretaker of the property who took over the building from another family of caretakers.
“It [the property] was further claimed to belong to a Zimbabwean national who operated other churches in Evaton and the East Rand,” added Rathokolo.
“This is unacceptable. Until a full report on the claimed ownership is presented, we will hold on to the facility in the public’s interest. If necessary, we will hand it over as a heritage site to the rightful authorities,” he said, also questioning how an individual or a family could own a public facility such as a church.
Family representative Poppy Maginya said the family had nominated her as the caretaker of the property after the deaths of previous family caretakers. “After problems started by other family members over my alleged mishandling of the rent paid by tenants, we handed it over to Sanco,” she said.
Maginya claimed the activists breached the family’s trust by the non-disclosure of the rent received until the family discovered that it was allegedly placed in an activist’s account. “This included payment by the Independent Electoral Commission which uses it as a voting station,” she added.
Maginya claimed the saga was part of an ongoing grab of other people’s properties by those in power, an allegation which Rathokolo refuted.
She confirmed receipt of the councillor’s written ruling and committed to getting the police or court to reaffirm the family’s ownership rights.
