The Star E-dition

Gogo ordered to relocate ... but gets another home

ZELDA VENTER ZELDA.VENTER@INL.CO.ZA

THE Constitutional Court had the last word on the fate of an 85-year-old granny who has had eviction proceedings hanging over her head for more than a decade.

She must finally move as the owner of the property had made a generous offer by providing her with a comfortable home nearby.

While the woman and her disabled son had, over the years, received relief from the courts allowing them to continue to stay in the house, which she had occupied since she was 11 years old, the Concourt has now ruled in favour of the homeowner.

Clara Phillips moved to a farm in Somerset West in the Western Cape when she was a mere child. Her father worked for the then farm owner.

Phillips has resided in the house on the property since 1947. She lived on the property with her parents.

But things changed in 2007 when Willem Grobler bought the portion on which Phillips and her disabled son, Adam, lived. He purchased the property at a public auction and it was registered in his name in September 2008. His dream was for his elderly parents to move to the property, but Phillips refused to budge. She also refused to accept any of his proposals over the years to have her move to an alternate property nearby.

Phillips maintained that she enjoyed an oral right to lifelong habitation granted by a previous owner, which was enforceable against Grobler.

It was a see-saw legal ride for the gogo over the years, as the magistrate’s court at first ordered her eviction. But Phillips successfully appealed against the order before three judges in the Western Cape High Court. Grobler in turn appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which also ruled in the granny’s favour. An aggrieved Grobler then turned to the highest court in the country – and at last won his battle.

In an unanimous judgment this week, the Concourt judges took into account that Grobler did not merely want to kick Phillips out of the house, but that he had in fact offered alternative accommodation on numerous occasions. They said if this offer were to be accepted, Phillips would continue to enjoy having a decent home.

While the offer was generous, it should not be construed as setting a precedent on what other private landowners were obliged to do in similar circumstances. There was no obligation on a private landowner to provide alternative accommodation to an unlawful occupier, the judges said.

The supreme court had earlier ordered lawyers to represent Phillips, free of charge, as complicated issues in law were at play.

Metro

en-za

2022-09-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/281608129300661

African News Agency