Cape Town - A court has ordered the widow of the previous owner of the Deo Gloria farm, which was auctioned in 2020 after it was taken over by a bank due to monies owed, to vacate the property by the end of January next year.
The property is in Joostenberg Vlakte and was bought by a private company, CJW Beleggings, in October 2020 and registered in the firm’s name in February last year.
Widow Colleen Arendse, who lives on the farm with others identified in court as “unlawful occupants”, has been refusing to leave the property since February last year, when she was told of the necessity of doing so by CJW Beleggings’ attorney, Yolandi Dippenaar.
In the interim, the widow has been ordered to move into a smaller house on the farm within the next few days. Western Cape High Court judge James Lekhuleni gave her until December 7 to do so or else she would be moved by the sheriff of the court.
Arendse and her late husband Trevor Daniels owned the farm. At the time of the auction, Arendse’s estate was sequestrated, while her husband’s deceased estate was also insolvent.
The court heard that in a phone conversation with Dippenaar, Arendse said she was not interested in discussing the matter and said her attorney would contact Dippenaar.
However, Dippenaar received no correspondence from Arendse’s attorney and thereafter they were unable to contact her.
On March 3 last year, Dippenaar sent a notice to Arendse and the other occupiers notifying them that they were in unlawful occupation of the farm and requesting them to vacate it on April 12, last year. No response was received to that correspondence.
In October last year, CJW Beleggings instituted eviction proceedings against Arendse and the other occupiers.
In her answering affidavit, Arendse said if evicted it would be difficult for her to find accommodation as many rental places were expensive and required a deposit and bank statements.
Judge Lekhuleni’s order stops Arendse from denying CJW Beleggings or any of its representatives access to the farm and to provide CJW Beleggings or any of its representatives with a key or the locks on the gates.