It’s your land, and that’s final, rules Concourt

THE Constitutional Court has ruled that a Verulam doctor can keep a piece of land he purchased 33 years ago from the eThekwini Municipality, despite the city’s attempts to reclaim it.

Justice Johan Coenraad Froneman ruled there were no reasonable prospects on appeal and dismissed the application with costs.

The municipality took the matter to court about four years ago to reclaim the land it sold to Dr Ruben Govender, the director of Mounthaven Limited, more than 33 years ago.

Every legal avenue pursued – the high court, Supreme Court of Appeal and finally the Constitutional Court – ruled in his favour. The matter was finalised on October 31.

Govender, represented by advocate Dashendra Naidoo, under the instruction of Mervyn Gounden and Associates, said while it cost him more money to fight for the land, he did it for all the people who were at threat of losing their land in the same way.

According to court papers, on May 24, 1985, the eThekwini Municipality sold vacant property (771m2) to Govender at a public auction for R60 000.

Special conditions were contained in the deed of sale, which was incorporated in the deed of transfer.

It included that Govender erect a property to the value of no less than R100 000.

If he failed to do so from the date of sale, the ownership of the property would revert to the seller, being the municipality.

It stated that Govender would be liable for the costs of the re-transfer of the property back to the city.

Govender failed to develop the building within three years.

He said his failure to build was related to an unresolved dispute with the municipality concerning a 750mm stormwater pipe that ran under the property.

Govender said he intended to build a two-storey shopping complex.

The plans were approved by the city in 2011 and it had agreed to remove the stormwater pipe.

In 2012, the municipality wrote to Govender in which it invoked the reversion clause as part of the deed of transfer.

When he failed to comply, the municipality, on February 19, 2014, launched a court application invoking the conditions and reclaiming of the property.

Mounthaven took the point that the re-transfer constituted a debt.

The high court ruled in favour of Mounthaven, that the claim constituted a debt, and concluded that it had prescribed after three years.

It then concluded that the municipality did not have an absolute real right to the property and that it lost its right of action when it prescribed after three years.

The municipality appealed the matter on the grounds that the reversion clause was a real right and not a debt and Mounthaven’s failure to develop a property constituted continuing wrong.

Govender said he intended selling the land.