Johannesburg - Julius Malema has been described by his former neighbours at Sandown Estate in Sandton as friendly and gracious.
This comes in light of his house going under the hammer on Thursday after he missed the March deadline to challenge Sars’s application for the sequestration of the house for his failure to pay R16 million he owed.
The auction house Bidders Choice is hoping to get between R2.5m and R3m for the three-storey property.
The building is only 50 percent complete, but Bidders Choice spokesman Pieter Geldenhuys said there were a lot of keen buyers.
“At the moment, in excess of 30 people have shown interest,” Geldenhuys said on Tuesday, adding that he was still registering bidders.
Those wanting to bid on the mansion have to pay a registration fee of R100 000, which is refundable after the auction.
What the successful bidder will get once the hammer has fallen is a house that smacks of Hollywood decadence. There is a private cinema room that Geldenhuys believes can sit between 15 and 20 people.
Then there is the cigar lounge, a pool and spa bath. The house has three garages, shown on the building plans as a car showroom.
There is also a wine cellar, a coffee bar and provision for a lift.
Also on offer is a “song room”.
And what of the underground bunker that so much has been written about?
Geldenhuys said there was a reinforced building, but it was not underground.
“What you have here is something that is proper style, hi-tech and very modern.”
There had been open viewing days for the property over the past two Sundays.
The house does not have any fittings, flooring, plumbing or window panes.
“With this property you are four minutes from Sandton,” Geldenhuys noted.
Malema bought the property in 2009 for R3.6m. He had the existing structure torn down and began building his own house.
The MacKenzies said Malema had been unfairly judged by some of his neighbours because of his political outlook, but had done his best to be a good neighbour and to lead a normal life.
Chantel MacKenzie said she would remember his house-warming party, to which she and husband Bruce were invited. Many complained about the party later.
“That was a really great party. He apologised to everyone in advance for the noise,” she said.
Another neighbour, who refused to be named, said the little she could remember was that Malema led a quiet life.
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The Star