Tommy Kirk FORCEFULLY evicts farm dweller 15 October, 2013 07:00:00 By Nosipho Shongwe Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font MATSAPHA business mogul Tommy Kirk has forcefully evicted farm dweller Rudolph Steenkamp from his property near Hhelehhele in Manzini. With the help of his marauding security personnel, Kirk took all Steenkamp’s belongings and dumped them at Mafutseni shopping centre, a few metres away from the Mafutseni Police Station. The eviction, which was carried out in the early hour of yesterday morning, occurred at the McCorkindale Orphanage Farm. Steenkamp, who was not present at the time of the eviction, is said to have lived on the piece of land since 1987 and had been refusing to leave claiming to be a tenant. security Items such as sofas, beds, mattresses, television sets, cupboards and carpets as well as kitchen utensils were found dumped unceremoniously at the busy shopping complex. Bystanders were seen watching helplessly as security personnel alleged to be employed by Kirk offloaded the personal belongings of the evicted family. Throughout the whole exercise it was reported that Kirk was present observing the eviction by Deputy Sheriffs armed with a court order. It was noted, however, that police were not present at the farm whilst the old man’s houses were reduced to rubble by a bulldozer belonging to the businessman. law Steenkamp’s son was alone in the family compound when the eviction was carried out and he reportedly revealed that his father was in town. He was later taken to the Mafutseni police station to record a statement on what had occurred at his home. Police Spokesperson Superintendent Wendy Hleta revealed that an enquiry on the eviction of the Steenkamp family from a farm in Hhelehhele had indeed been opened at the Mafutseni Police station. “Matter was reported and an enquiry set up to investigate whether the eviction was indeed lawful. Police involved in the matter did, however, state that although those conducting the eviction had a court order, they did not leave a copy with the police,” Hleta said. She said presently the police at Mafutseni were trying their best to find an alternative place to house the evictees as their belongings had just been left next to the road. “We are working closely with Red Cross on this matter,” she stated. …he was not cooperative - Kirk “I have waited four years for this family to amicably move out of my farm but they refused to be considered farm dwellers claiming to be tenants and opted to take me up in court,” Tommy Kirk said. The businessman revealed that he bought the farm in 2009 and entered into agreements with dwellers on the farm on how they would live twith him as the new owner. “Steenkamp refused to enter into any agreement with me and revealed that he had a lease agreement from 1987 which actually even gave him an option to buy the land he lived on,” Kirk stated. He stated that the Steenkamp family, however, failed or refused to divulge information whether this lease agreement was valid until he made an application through the courts to evict them in 2010. He mentioned that an order to evict the Steenkamps was issued October 6, 2010 and that he rushed to court and made an application to rescind the decision. “I received an order to evict babe Steenkamp on October 9, 2013 and it was stated in the judgment that it was not an issue that the evicted family had entered into an agreement with the farm owners, who then sold it to me.” Kirk mentioned that he had a meeting with Steenkamp last Thursday, where they discussed what the court order meant in terms of his continued stay on the farm. “Steenkamp requested that I now considered him a farm dweller and finance his move to an alternative area and I refused. I informed him that the money I would have used to establish him elsewhere had been used to pay lawyers and reminded him that he chose the route the matter had now taken,” Kirk remarked. The businessman revealed that he later relented and agreed to give Steenkamp a cow to use to khonta elsewhere but they reached a deadlock again when the old man demanded money to cater for his visit to emphakatsini and a further E15 000 to supposedly pay his emissary. “I had offered to help this family move amicably out of the farm but what later transpired caused me to swiftly remove them from my farm as I feared that those still living on the farm would be harmed from all the veld fires cropping up on the farm.”
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 05:13:08 +0000