Walmer land furore enough to wake dead
Cops called as row between homeowner and funeral operator heats up
A fight over land has seen a businessman from Walmer township calling in the police after an irate homeowner allegedly demolished part of his satellite funeral parlour office.
Lindisile Gqirana claims to have lost more than two decades of administration documents, which he alleges were stolen, along with 15 office chairs and a table, during what he claimed was a planned break-in on Monday night.
Gqirana, 53, owner of Gqirana Funerals, said he was not doing well emotionally after a homeowner, who claims to own the land where he has been operating his satellite office since 2008, allegedly got two men to break in.
For her part, homeowner Ziyanda Makubalo said she merely asked the men to enter the office and dismantle it, following a rental dispute.
The office is on Fountain Avenue – on municipal land – a few metres from Makubalo’s boundary wall.
Gqirana said issues with Makubalo started a few weeks ago when she demanded rent from him for occupying the “plot”, culminating in Monday night’s events.
“My secretary told me that she came to demand rental last week, but my argument has been that this is municipal land so I don’t see why I should be paying her rent.
“Last night [Monday night] I got a call from residents that there was someone breaking into my office.
“When I got to the premises, I found two men taking things out of my office.
“When I asked them what they were doing, they told me she [Makubalo] sent them,” Gqirana said.
“She also came out during the process and confirmed that she had asked them to take my things out because she wanted to put up her container.”
Gqirana said he then opened a case with the police.
On Tuesday, Gqirana showed The Herald some of the office equipment that he claimed was “repossessed” by Makubalo.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg confirmed that a case of housebreaking had been opened and police were still investigating.
Asked about the allegations against her, Makubalo confirmed that she had asked the two men to empty and dismantle Gqirana’s office after they had a disagreement.
Makubalo said Gqirana initially had been operating from within her boundary wall, but after he failed to pay rent he moved out and put up the office outside.
“Tatu Gqirana and I had an agreement years ago when he was working from my house.
“He started falling behind on rent, and instead of coming forward to speak to me about alternative arrangements, he moved out and set up the office in front of my yard,” Makubalo said.
She said on Tuesday morning she went to the municipality to get the site plan, which would prove that the land outside her boundary wall was, in fact, part of her property.
She has yet to show The Herald the site plan.
Gqirana said before having the satellite office, he used to operate from the Walmer township resource centre between 1998 and 2008.
“In 2008, the municipality took over the ownership of some of the [Walmer] township, including the Walmer township resource centre.
“All the tenants were told to find an alternative place until renovation that the municipality wanted to do was completed,” Gqirana said.
“And that’s when I put up the temporary structure for my office – the rest of the business is in town where I rent space from a funeral undertaking business,” he said.
“I made a request to buy property near the old Fountain satellite police station more than 10 years ago, but I am still waiting to hear from the municipality.”
Asked about money owed to Makubalo, Gqirana claimed: “She is lying and trying to clear her name.”
Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said all land between residents’ boundary walls and the street was, in fact, the property of the municipality.