The other side of the story
The ex-husband was accused of selling the flat where his ex-wife lived while she was away.
AFTER reporting the story of a woman who was allegedly left homeless by her ex-husband who was accused of selling the flat, in which she lived, while she was attending her father’s funeral, the COURIER met with the husband to hear his side of the story.
The ex-husband, who asked not to be named, sat down with the COURIER for over an hour and a half, with some receipts, and explained his version of what happened.
According to the ex-husband, he is the legal owner of the flat and after his divorce from his wife, for relevant reasons which the COURIER cannot publish, he left the woman, Tagmida, in the flat because he knew she would need a place to stay. The ex-husband concurred with Clr Rashieda Landis‘ statements that he would often be called by neighbours to help in the flat. He said it was because the woman was now living with a boyfriend who was beating her and neighbours were afraid someday someone was going to end up dead in that flat. The ex-husband explained that the flat became notorious and on many occasions the police would be called to the flat and, at some time, they even made an arrest in that flat.
After having been liable for various damages in the flat, the ex-husband realised the boyfriend who was now living with his ex-wife was destroying the place from walls and sinks to windows and furniture.
“Two weeks before the woman’s father’s passing, I could not take it anymore. Windows were broken, water was leaking and furniture, which I bought but left in the flat when I left, was damaged and in a messy and sickening state. I then approached the boyfriend man-to-man and asked him to move out. At that time the woman was already living somewhere with some people because she was afraid the boyfriend would beat her up again. At that point I told the boyfriend he had two weeks to pack his stuff and go.
READ: Mother and child homeless in Chrisville
Two weeks later I arrived and found him taking his last stuff. The walls were filthy, the wires from the meter box were gone and the windows were broken. I stopped him before he left and asked him, “Do you have any honour as a man? You came here and found the home furnished by another man and now you are leaving but everything in this flat is trash; how do you feel about yourself?” He looked down and said the people made him like that. Eventually we agreed he would compensate me with R3000, which I knew wasn’t going to happen but we shook hands on it.”
According to the ex-husband, after repairing windows, he showed the COURIER team a bill for the repair of 21 windows, he could not go and fetch the woman from where she stayed with other people because the boyfriend would return to the flat again through her. So he decided to find other people to stay in the flat and as they would pay rent, that money would be used to repair the flat because their four children, who live with him as a single father, would one day have to stay in that flat once it is repaired and in a good state to bring up children. The husband said Tagmida’s father passed away when he had already decided to finally put the new people into the flat and Tagmida was not even living there anymore and she knew he was repairing the place. He explained that on the Friday when Tagmida’s father passed, because of their religion, he fetched Tagmida and her sister from the neighbourhood and took them to their father’s funeral because he had to be buried the same day.
Watch: Southern Courier Journalist, James Mahlokwane, speaks to neighbours of homeless mother and child.
He also added that the story about her being assaulted is not true, she wanted to forcefully get into the flat that was now occupied by the new people and what they say about the flat being sold while Tagmida was away was just made up because he was with her at her father’s funeral.
“The mother of my children needs help. I try to help her where I can because she is the mother of my children and my children keep saying,”daddy, help mommy,” so I help. She is the mother of my children and I cannot erase that. I am working to move her to Kimberley to her uncle’s place for her to get her life in order.”
The COURIER would like to reiterate that this is the end of the matter as all parties concerned have been given an opportunity to tell their side of the story.
