Mum wants son, girlfriend restrained
MBABANE – A businesswoman has obtained an order restraining her son and his girlfriend from coming within 100 metres of her residence and place of business.
She alleges that her son is involved in various illicit drugs.
In papers she filed under a certificate of urgency at the High Court, Moira Blignaut of Nkonyeni Golf Estate stated that her son, Sean Blignaut, issued serious threats to her life and she had reasonable fear that he, with his girlfriend, Londi Matsenjwa, might cause her serious harm.
Judge Mzwandile Fakudze also interdicted Sean and Matsenjwa from committing any act of domestic violence against her. The court further interdicted Sean and Matsenjwa from enlisting the help of another person to commit any such act against her.
They were interdicted also from entering any part of Nkonyeni Golf Estate, where Moira resides at Plot 261.
Alternatively, she had applied that they be interdicted from coming within 100 metres of her residential home at Nkonyeni Golf Estate.
Moira obtained another order interdicting Sean and Matsenjwa from approaching or entering her company premises at Busi Quip (Pty) Ltd, Mantsholo Street, Mbabane, or from coming within a distance of 100 metres of the company premises.
Approaching
Judge Fakudze interdicted the couple from approaching Moira or coming within a distance of 100 metres of her and from contacting, attempting to contact or asking someone else to contact her in any way or form, save contact between the parties’ duly instructed attorneys, and were interdicted from locating or attempting to locate her or asking anyone to contact her.
The orders operate on an interim basis.
Among the prayers was that Moira sought an order authorising the issue of a warrant for the arrest of Sean and
Matsenjwa in the prescribed form and/ or suspending the execution of such warrant subject to their compliance with the terms of the interim and final order.
She further prayed that the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) be ordered to arrest her son and Matsenjwa with immediate effect and commit them to gaol should they be found to be in contempt of this order in any way or form, and for the REPS to bring the arrested respondents before the court as soon as possible.
Evaluation
Moira also wants the court to order Sean to be submitted to psychiatric evaluation at her expense and that he should be submitted to a full blood and hair analysis drug test at the expense of the applicant.
Sean and Matsenjwa have filed a notice to oppose Moira’s application. They are represented by Bongani ‘Bhanyaza’ Mdluli of Bongani G. Mdluli and Associates.
In her founding papers, Moira, who is represented by Alwyn Dupont of Dupont Attorneys, informed the court that around 25 years ago, when Sean finished his high school education, he allegedly became involved with various illicit drugs, notably cannabis and cocaine, as far as she was aware.
She said over the years she and her late husband, Don Blignaut, who passed away on May 25, 2022, did their level best to assist Sean in his addictions as their son.
According to Moira, Sean was enrolled at various rehabilitation centres in the Republic of South Africa, however, without the desired effect.
Squander
“As the years went on, my late husband and I watched how the first respondent (Sean) would squander his monies and assets on his addictions, and further how he would run his businesses into the ground.
“My late husband and I would then assist the first respondent financially to start over again, but to no avail.
“In 2019, my late husband invited the first respondent to come back to the Kingdom of Eswatini and to work at our company, which my late husband and I co-owned in Mbabane, namely Busi Quip (Pty) Ltd.
“The first respondent stayed with us in our marital home until one day, around about the year 2020, I found cannabis and what I thought to be crystal meth in the first respondent’s room. My husband and I then kicked the first respondent out of the marital home but allowed the first respondent to live in our cottage,” said Moira.
The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court. The respondents are yet to file answering papers.
She also informed the court that for a time it seemed as though Sean was in control of his addictions and his employment arrangement was stable. However, since her husband died in May 2022, Sean returned to his old ways. According to Moira, about a month after her husband died, she allegedly found dagga and other illicit drugs, which she assumed to be crystal meth or cocaine in the cottage.
“I confronted the first respondent with this knowledge, and he became aggressive and left my home. He never returned and eventually I gave his girlfriend, the second respondent, herein all of the first respondent’s belongings that were in the cottage.
Manner
“The first respondent started behaving in a controlling manner in my company since my late husband’s death. Around about December 2022, I realised that the company was struggling financially but I could not figure out why.
“In December 2022 I paid my company employees early for the festive season, and I left for Zimbabwe to visit my sister. While in Zimbabwe, the first respondent contacted me to request money which he alleged was for him to pay staff bonuses, as he relayed that there was not enough money in the company to do so. I found this exceedingly strange as I had already paid the staff in full before I left for the holidays,” added Moira.
She also told the court that around about the end of January 2023, with her accountant, they realised that Sean had made multiple electronic fund transfers from the company accounts into his personal bank account between September 2022 and February 2023 totalling no less than E220 000 without her knowledge or consent.
Moira submitted that Sean had entered false references on the transactions to make them seem like the company had made the payments to various suppliers. She said they further realised that he had convinced her to authorise various payments from the company account which were not in fact for company expenses.
“On about 28 or 29 January 2023, the first respondent showed up at my company premises, demanded money and physically assaulted me. As I climbed into my vehicle in order to retrieve bottled water, the first respondent rushed over to me and aggressively pulled me from my seat.
“The first respondent then proceeded to bump me harshly with his chest and stomach no less than three times while shouting and swearing at me. The last thing that the first respondent said to me at this stage was ‘I am going to do something to you that I will regret for the rest of my life!’ I took this as an explicit death threat.
Rushed
“The staff chased him away from me. He then rushed into the business premises and caused an altercation with the company accountants as he wanted money. Multiple of the company staff realised that the situation would turn to physical violence and intervened just in time. The first respondent then stormed out of the company premises, swearing and shouting threats at everyone.”
Moira said Sean even dismissed some of her staff verbally for no apparent reason other than questioning his aggressive actions.
She informed the court that her son was under the impression that he was due company shares from his late father’s estate, ‘and he further labours under the misguided view that he is due millions of Emalangeni as well’. Moira said Sean believed that she was withholding the shares from him unlawfully and ‘he believes that he needs to get rid of me that he may inherit my whole estate’.
“The first respondent lastly believes that the home I am living in also should belong, or already belongs to him. His beliefs are simply not in tandem with reality and can only be due to his substance abuse.”
The matter is pending in court.