Soweto family left in the lurch after momin-law, 105, sells house
A FAMILY in Meadowlands, Soweto, has been forced to sleep on the streets after the family house they have been living in for over 40 years was sold by a 105-year-old mother-in-law to a new homeowner.
Members of the community told The Star that on Wednesday, the new owner, who works for the Department of Housing and is identified only as Vincent, came with his “army of men” to evict the 70-year-old Caroline Sekano.
Reports indicate that the men broke down the locked gate and began throwing household items and furniture onto the street as they tried to evict Sekano and her daughter Kagiso from the home.
This has left Sekano and her daughter homeless and not sure where they will be sleeping after this eviction and the sale of the four-room house. Their furniture was damaged in the process.
Sekano told The Star that she and her late husband were given the house by the now 105-year-old mother-in-law, who has since sold the house.
She said at the time, they signed an affidavit that gave them ownership of the house, but since the passing of her late husband, she has been told that this piece of paper was not good enough.
“The house was signed to us by my mother-in-law. She gave us the house, and we have been living here for more than 40 years, until the death of my husband,” she said.
Sekano accused her sister-in-law, Kate, of having influenced her motherin-law to sell the house, adding that Kate forced her mother to sign the papers, knowing very well that she was an old woman who legally should not be tasked with such a responsibility.
“We had to sleep outside on the streets while the men hired by the new homeowner slept inside the house.
“Today we have been told that we need to share the house with them. I am not sure if that will be possible.
“The men you see outside have been bought by the new homeowner to intimidate us. This man pays people to intimidate them whenever he buys a home. They refused to listen to us and just threw our belongings into the street. How can you allow a 105-yearold woman to sign a sale agreement?” Sekano asked.
The new homeowner, Vincent, confirmed having purchased the house three years ago, but refused to divulge any more details related to the sale of the house or to respond to the accusations that he had sent his men to threaten Sekano to get out of the house.
Kate, who is the gogo’s daughter, told The Star her mother had sold the house more than three years ago.
She said the sale of the house was above board and that the people who stayed in the house had no right to be there in the first place, as the house belonged to her mother.
“Those people are telling you lies that this house was sold illegally. The house was sold legally three years ago. The man my mother sold the house to knows the law and has the papers that allow him to occupy the house.
“They should just vacate the house and allow the new owner to occupy the house. As you can see, my mother is tired and thus cannot speak any further on the issue, except to say those people also mistreated my brother and never cared for him when he was still alive,” Kate said.
A community leader from the EFF, who did not want to be named, said she has asked the family to give her the particulars of Sekano’s husband so she can check and verify the true ownership of the house.
She said that according to the laws of the city, legal ownership resides with the late husband, which in turn makes his wife, Sekano, the legal owner.