3947/2022 /hvr 2 JUDGMENT
2025-03-12 Application for Leave to Appeal
Ms Naidoo had purchased the property from Ms Nkombi, but
Ms Nkombi had refused to vacate until a difficulty she had with Standard Bank, which held the bond over the property
until the Naidoos purchased it , had been sorted out.
In my judgment a quo I found that there was no
rational connection between the dispute that Ms Nkombi had with Standard Bank and the Naidoo s’ right to exclusive
possession of the property. I also found that it was not just and equitable to allow Ms Nkombi to remain in occupation
pending the resolution of her dispute with Standard Bank. I
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remarked that the situation on the property is untenable,
given that Ms Nkombi remains in occupation in one part of the house, while the Naidoos occupy the other part of the house with their family. I made an eviction order which will become executable on 31 March 2025.
Ms. Nkombi now seeks leave to appeal against the
eviction order. She filed her application for leave to appeal
late, but, given the slightness of the delay, and the fact that
Ms. Nkombi is a lay litigant, I intend to condone t hat
oversight .
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I set the application down and notified the parties
of my intention to hear it today. Ms Nkombi wrote to my
registrar and expressed the opinion that I was not empowered to set the application down today because that is a power that only the registrar has.
3947/2022 /hvr 3 JUDGMENT
2025-03-12 Application for Leave to Appeal
That is , of course, misguided because the registrar
acts on the instruction of the Judge seized with the matter.
I instructed my registrar to set the matter down for today
and there can be no difficulty with the steps that I took to do so.
Ms Nkombi was informed in writing over a week ago
that the matter would proceed today. She has apparently
taken no further interest in prosecuting the application for leave to appeal . In correspondence with my registrar, Ms.
Nkombi has made clear that she does not intend to appear
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before me, because she regards my decision to set the matter down for today as illegitimate.
Ms. Nkombi’s wilful default notwithstanding , it is in
my view appropriate to deal with the application for leave to
appeal on its merits.
There is no merit in the application for leave to
appeal. I have set out in my judgment a quo why it is
neither fair nor lawful to permit Ms Nkombi to remain in
occupation of the property pending the resolution of her
dispute with Standard Bank, which has in any event already
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been dealt with by the Banking Ombudsman. In my view,
there is no prospect of an appeal court finding otherwise. Given the unusual facts of this case, it seems to me
to be in the interest s of justice , and indeed in the interest s
of everyone living at the property , that the eviction order be