Dispute over wall ends up in court

A war between two neighbours at an upmarket estate in the East of Pretoria has escalated to the point of them laying criminal charges and being interdicted from contacting each other except through their attorneys.

Judge Joseph Raulinga granted an order in the High Court in Pretoria, prohibiting Glen Smith and Dale Mahlwele from making contact with each other until proceedings had been concluded.

They were also prohibited from enticing or using any of their workers or employees to harass, threaten or insult the other party and they and their construction workers were prohibited from entering each other’s properties.

The order followed an urgent application by Smith, who alleged in an affidavit Mahlwele had sworn at, insulted and pushed him, repeatedly punched him in the face, kicked in a glass door panel at his house, causing R8 000 damage, threatened to hit him with a rock and made threats against his life.

He laid criminal charges against Mahlwele immediately after the incident. But Mahlwele alleged Smith was the aggressor and had used racially offensive language (a claim Smith vehemently denied) and also laid criminal charges against Smith almost three weeks later.

This was after a dispute about a common boundary wall between their properties, which Smith said he could not afford to pay at this stage.

Smith refused to approve an addition to Mahlwele’s house, which he claimed would infringe his privacy and block his view of the scenery and Mahlwele in turn complained about a “balcony” being erected on Smith’s property which would infringe his privacy.

Mahlwele insisted he had paid for the wall to be built entirely on his own property after Smith said he could not pay and that the wall was, therefore, not a common wall, but just his wall.

He admitted to an exchange of blows, but said he had only slapped Smith, had acted in self-defence and was provoked and insulted.

– ilsedl@citizen.co.za