Durban - During the time of the Group Areas Act, Goolam Mahomed fought for the right to stay on his father’s property in Cato Manor even though it was designated an area for whites.
Mahomed’s father bought the land after he arrived in South Africa from India in 1915.
The property in Wiggins passed to Mahomed when his father died. When the apartheid government told him to move, Mahomed stood in front of his home with his wife and three young children. He told the then Community Development Board in 1980 he would rather die than leave.
The property was expropriated by the City without any compensation, and even though the family continued to stay on the land, their status changed from owners to tenants.
After democracy in 1994, Mahomed put in a land claim. He died without getting back the title deeds and, to date, some 25 years later, the matter remains unresolved.
Last week the property was invaded by a group of people living in the area.
Shiraaz Mahomed, the eldest of Mahomed’s children, said in recent years the property had been occupied by two families. Last week she received a call from one of them saying a group of young people were breaking the walls and gates to get inside the house.
“It was a nightmare,” said Mahomed. “One person in the group produced a letter and made it seem like we had stolen the property from the municipality.
“When I got to the home, I explained to them that the property was ours but we were awaiting the finalisation of the land claim we’d lodged. However, they wouldn’t believe us.”
Mahomed said she and the leader of the group went to the Cato Manor police station where she explained the history of the situation.
“The station commander said that without proof of a title deed, he could not help me.”
She was still at the police station when her sister called to say two people had brought mattresses into the house and had moved in.
“I felt defeated at that moment because even the police could not help me. Here was my family’s legacy, our birth-right, and no one could help us protect it.”
As more people began arriving to make the property their home, the families that lived on the property, fled.
Mahomed said she had not been able to gain access to the property in recent days, although she had heard there were now more than 10 people living there.
“We’ve had so many weddings and even deaths at this home. It's not just a structure for me. Each corner in each room has a memory that I cherish,” said Mahomed.
Mahomed’s mother, Hafiza Bibi Nabie, 67, said: “When I was a little girl, I lived a road away and I used to come to this home for madressa. My father-in-law had built a madressa at the bottom for kids in the area. Later on, I married into this home. I shared the best memories with my husband and our kids. What is now happening is making me more ill.”
Councillor Nveli Mthembu told the POST he had spoken with both parties and was hoping to arrange a meeting between them and officials from the Department of Human Settlements later this week.
“I’ve reported the matter to the relevant departments and I’ve been told by the same departments that Mrs Mahomed had also contacted them. As much as I heard from each party, I cannot act. I am confident the meeting with the officials will make things clearer.”
Msawakhe Mayisela, eThekwini municipality’s spokesperson, said: “Land claims are handled in terms of Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 of 1994 and that responsibility vests with the Land Claims Commission, not the municipality.
“The feedback required in terms of the claims should be with the Land Claims Commission and not the municipality.
“Where there is a valid claim it must be gazetted for it to be legally valid, the commission would write to the municipality requesting that the property be transferred to them so that they can then settle the claim.
“According to our records, the property is still registered in the name of the municipality and it’s not part of the list of the properties that the commission has requested to transfer to the commission. In terms of the invasion, we have reported the matter to our Land Invasion Unit to investigate.”
The Land Claims Commission could not respond by the time of publication.
The Post