Land dispute leaves families in limbo as committees battle for property association control
A bitter dispute between two committees at the Kudung Communal Property Association has reached the Gauteng High Court.
A court order has frozen the association's bank accounts while the dispute continues.
Representatives of the ousted executive committee claim R7.8 million went unaccounted for under the previous leadership, with a pattern of large cash withdrawals.
Jeritta Giles, a 53-year-old reverend in the Lutheran church, says disputed land stolen from her family during apartheid represents more than just property - it's her family's legacy and future.
'It's not just us that would benefit; it would be generations,' Giles told News24, reflecting on her family's connection to the 4 000 square metre farmland in Heidelberg that they were forcibly removed from decades ago.
'I wouldn't mind moving back.'
Giles is one of many descendants of the original landowners caught in a bitter leadership dispute at the Kudung Communal Property Association (CPA), where allegations of financial mismanagement have escalated tensions between competing committees, both claiming legitimacy, coming to a head in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The CPA owns significant farmland that was returned to descendants of people forcibly removed during apartheid. Giles' family was relocated to Thokoza, then Eden Park, in about 1976 due to her family appearing 'coloured'.
'We used to go [to the farm] when we were small,' Giles recalled. 'I don't know what reasons were given to my parents, but we were relocated [to Thokoza].'
The Constitution of the CPA requires that an annual general meeting (AGM) be held to elect an executive committee that will manage the affairs of the CPA.
In January 2024, an AGM was held where an executive committee was elected.
This executive committee claims that the association's funds went unaccounted for under the 'previous leadership', whom they allege were elected without the necessary AGM taking place.
READ | Gauteng premier's office rocked by allegations of dubious property transfer
This is what motivated them to run for office.
'At the time we went into office, there was about R15 million to R16 million. R7.8 million went unaccounted for,' said Katlego Mogapi, a member of the executive committee, told News24.
The executive committee alleges that before 2019, there was a pattern of large cash - as much as R200 000 and R400 000 - withdrawn from the association's accounts at a time.
However, the executive committee was ousted in a vote of no confidence that was held in June of 2024, and an interim committee was formed.
This led to a dispute between the two competing committees, which reached the courts, with the interim committee, including Moses Ramathibela, treasurer of the previous leadership, facing these allegations, claiming legitimacy of running the CPA because of the vote of no confidence in the executive committee.
Court orders from late 2024 have frozen the association's bank accounts, leaving families in limbo while the ousted executive committee attempts to challenge the latest court order, which confirmed the vote of no confidence.
At the centre of the dispute between the two committees is a controversial lease agreement with tenant farmer Hendrik Bonsma.
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Bonsma previously owned the land through his company, Bonsma Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, before it was bought and placed under the control of the CPA in 2006.
The land was then leased back to Bonsma Enterprises in a lease which the executive committee claims is 'grossly undervalued.'
The executive committee claims that the previous regime, which took control of the CPA in 2005 allegedly without the requisite annual general meeting to vote them in, personally benefited from the lease.
However, Johannes Grobbelaar, the attorney for Bonsma Enterprises, strongly dispute these allegations, saying the lease agreement must be viewed alongside a cooperation agreement that provides additional 'benefits to the CPA'.
The lease requires Bonsma Enterprises to harvest 750kg of white maize per hectare per year, which Grobbelaar claims is above the market value of 650kg per hectare.
Grobbelaar also pointed to costs Bonsma bears, including fencing, water infrastructure, security against theft and vandalism, and biosecurity measures.
READ MORE | R9.9bn housing project land dispute: City rejects Boksburg woman's claim for compensation
Bonsma claims, through his attorney, that he is not party to the internal governance of the CPA, meaning he and his company play no part in what happens to the money once it is deposited.
However, for descendants of the original landowners, like Giles, the ongoing dispute means continuing to wait for benefits from land that rightfully belongs to their families.
The association most recently distributed R1.7 million to its 198 member families in 2024, amounting to about R25 000 per family, but Giles says she has not received any payout.
'Not a cent,' she told News24.
Another descendant, Jabulani Mkhoza, who has been unemployed since 2013, expressed his desire to return to work the land.
'We'd work the farm for the business,' Mkhoza said. 'It wasn't our parents' will [to leave the land].'
News24 contacted representatives of the previous and interim committee for comment on the allegations but did not receive a response after multiple attempts at contact.
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