Tabitha Munchu alleges her father was tricked into signing away the family home in Orlando East — now he lives in the backrooms of the house he’s always known.
On the wall of a house in Orlando East, large graffiti reads: “This house is not for sale.” It was not painted by the family who live there, but by their neighbours.
The house belongs to the Munchu family. According to Tabitha Mangungu Munchu, it is her late grandmother’s house – the mother of her father, Tommy Munchu. Thabitha and her late brother Panase grew up in the home.
“My grandmother sold sorghum beer for us to survive,” Tabitha says. People from our community and the coal yard supported her business. She was a sangoma and her house belongs to our ancestors.
Tabitha says the dispute over the house began after her father’s cousin, Makgongo brought his son Kgosi to live with the family. The family raised him and took him to kindergarten before his father took him back.
Years later, after Kgosi’s mother passed away, Tabitha alleges that Makgongo sold her house and later his house in Diepkloof. Kgosi was then sent back to live in the Orlando East house, which the family says is his grandmother’s house.
Allegations of Forged Documents
According Tabitha, the family never had a will for the property. She alleges that Kgosi, through what she describes as
corrupt officials, acquired documents to claim ownership of the house.
Tabitha claims her father’s signature was obtained under false pretences. She says her father, who is illiterate, was taken to the Master of the High Court office and tricked into signing transfer documents.
“They scammed him to sign transfer documents of the house because of illiteracy,” she alleges. She further claims that her grandmother’s signature was forged on documents, pointing to what she says are modern signatures on the paperwork. “Old folks couldn’t sign signatures, they made a cross or a fingerprint,” she says.
She also questioned how a letter of authority was issued without other family members being called. The dispute intensified after the death of Tabitha’s uncle, Shweshwe, who is her father’s brother. “All hell broke loose regarding our family home,” she says.
Community Intervention
Tabitha says Kgosi ordered her sister’s daughter, Lindi, who was living in the house, to vacate. Kgosi then told Tabitha to leave as well, she says, because she “talks too much.” I only moved out for two months and the community assisted me to move back in, “ Tabitha says.
It was after the community brought her back that neighbours painted the graffiti that now defines the house: “This house is not for sale – its okay with me”, Tabitha says. Lindi had renovated the house so the family could live comfortably, but alleges Kgosi has vandalized it out of spite
Currently, Tabitha and her elderly father Tommy live in the backrooms of their own property. Kgosi also lives on the property. The family says they are not receiving support from relatives and are relying on a family friend, Nobesutho, and the community for support. Tabitha says there is an ongoing case for a protection order, alleging that Kgosi threatened her. “Ever since this dispute
started, I can’t sleep, I struggle to sleep at night ,” she says.
She says her father, Tommy, is diplomatic and does not want to chase Kgosi away because he is family. If the matter is resolved, she wants her father to move back into the main house as the rightful owner. “This is not Kgosi’s house, why are we negotiating with him?” Tabitha asks. My concern is my father – where will he go? The man is old and he lived all his life in that house.”
She recounts a recent incident where neighbours asked to park their car in the yard, and Tommy wanted to ask Kgosi for permission. Efforts to get comment from kgosi were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.
Loxion Express will publish a follow-up report on this story and more other stories in our series: THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR SALE.