13th Avenue church ownership saga heads to court
ALEXANDRA – The family claimed that the activists had somehow usurped Sanco's powers and received the revenue which allegedly wasn't passed on to the descendants but deposited in one of the activist's account.
The ownership saga of a 13th Avenue church between its late owner’s descendants and some ‘disputed’ activists continues to fester.
Despite area councillor Adolph Marema’s ruling in favour of the descendants based on deeds office records, a leader of the activists said to be aligned with South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) appears to be ready for a protracted battle.
The matter was featured in the article Church ownership row [Week Ending 31 January].
The leader of the activists, Bulldog Rathokolo circulated invitations for a meeting on the matter which was aborted seemingly due to rain. The descendants and current leader of Sanco branch in the area, Dan Sibanda who was asked by the descendants to oversee the facility, said the church was locked on the day and also people wouldn’t have wanted to meet in the street.
“In any case, the matter is now with the police and we urge anyone contesting our ownership rights to meet us in court,” said Poppy Maginya on behalf of the heirs.
Sibanda attributed the saga to the family alleging that Rathokolo and his activists had received income from the rental of rooms on the property and from fees paid by the IEC for the use of the facility during the elections. The family claimed that the activists had somehow usurped Sanco’s powers and received the revenue which allegedly wasn’t passed on to the descendants but deposited in one of the activist’s account.
In his ruling, Marema said any unauthorised use of revenue without the heirs’ consent constituted fraud. He urged the descendants to report the matter to law enforcement agencies if it persisted.
However, Rathokolo dismissed all allegations against him and his group. “We have nothing to hide and welcome the matter going to court,” he said, claiming that he was the duly elected chairperson of Sanco’s 116 branch.
“The church was the former Ikage Primary School and remains a public facility with no evidence of it being owned or bought by an individual,” he claimed. Rathokolo added that the descendants’ claims to the property would be disproved by historical documents as the family’s late grandfather was just a caretaker.
He disputed the claims of fraud saying the money from IEC was kept in a committee’s account. “Occupants of back rooms at the church don’t pay any rent.”
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