MBABANE - Member of Parliament (MP) candidate for Shiswelweni II Inkhundla, Mashumi Shongwe, has been interdicted from selling a house belonging to him and his late wife Tigezile.
Shongwe, who is a well-known football administrator and is in the race for a seat in Parliament, had allegedly, through an estate agent, already started advertising the sale of the four-bedroom house. The house, which is situated in Nhlangano, was being sold through Re/Max Real Estate Specialists and it was advertised on Facebook. It was where the late Tigezile and her children used to stay during her lifetime.
Shongwe is currently out on bail after he was arrested on suspicions that he allegedly had a hand in the demise of his wife. The interim interdict was issued by Judge Mumcy Dlamini yesterday, after Temabhengete Shongwe and Tanele Magongo, who are co-executors, approached the High Court on an urgent basis. Temabhengete, who is a police officer, is one of their (Mashumi and Tigezile) daughters.
Interdicted
Respondents in the matter are Shongwe, Re/Max Agent Specialists, master of the High Court and the registrar of Deeds. The court interdicted Mashumi and the other respondents from alienating the immovable property situated in Nhlangano Extension 4, pending the outcome of criminal case No 230/23 and the liquidation. In her application, the applicant (Temabhengete) informed the court that her mother died after she was shot several times while opening a gate.
She told the court that her mother left behind an estate comprising of cash and a home situated at Extension 4 in Nhlangano. She brought it to the attention of the court that the home was allegedly registered under Tigezile’s inventory, under Estate file No. 106/22, that was reported and opened in Nhlangano is terms of the administration of estate.
“Furthermore, I wish to add that this is the only home as all the other homes that were built by the deceased together with the first respondent (Mashumi) have been occupied by unknown people, especially the homestead situated at Holneck that has not been included in the inventory yet my mother had contributed towards building it,” submitted Temabhengete.
Informed
She narrated to the court that on July 18, 2023, she was informed by her aunt Gabsile Magongo that their home situated at Extension 4 in Nhlangano was being advertised on the Facebook page of Re/Max Agent Specialists. The applicant told the court that she was shocked as she was unaware and had not consented to the sale as the executor of the estate.
She submitted that upon getting such information, she called Tanele Magongo, who was also the co-executor of her mother’s estate, to find out if she had knowledge of the sale. She alleged that to her surprise and dismay, she also discovered that Magongo was not aware and this then made them to ask as to who had mandated Mashumi to find a buyer for the house.
Believed
The applicant said they had not received any information from the master of the High Court who is the custodian of all estates. She told the court that she believed that any sale of property should be communicated with them as executors of the estate prior to advertising. She alleged that this was not the first for Mashumi to attempt to sell the home. According to the applicant, he had earlier on tried to sell the homestead to Asians while her mother was still alive and this was suspected to be one of the reasons that could have led to the death of her mother.
“May I further submit that there was no next of kin meeting, where the issue of selling the property was discussed. This must have been done in secret and without our knowledge and consent as executors of the estate. I also wish to state that the estate has also not been wound up so any sale of the asset of the estate would be unlawful and wrongful,” she argued. She further brought it to the attention of the court that she was not puzzled by Mashumi’s actions as he allegedly tried to lure her and her brother to attest to an affidavit, whose contents had not been read to them and was only induced to sign by the former together with his attorney in Nhlangano.
“In terms of the affidavit, the first respondent (Mashumi) forced me to sign that I am giving him the home. I wish to state that I was never given a chance to read the contents and the only reason that made me to sign was because I trusted the former as he was my biological father and I have never thought he would betray us as his children,” she argued.
Surprise
She averred that all the events which occurred regarding the manner in which the property was being sold, took her by surprise and had caused her so much stress. The applicant told the court that she feared if by any chance the agent found a buyer as mandated by Mashumi, they might end up losing the only place they called home to third parties.
“What concerns me the most is that as executors of the estate, we were not aware that the first respondent intends to alienate the property without involving us and only got to know about such on Facebook, whereas the law is clear about procedures when dealing with an estate,” she argued.
She submitted that it was unfortunate that the first respondent was allegedly trying to take advantage of the fact that she was undergoing training at the Matsapha Police College and it would be difficult for her to have access to the estate file. These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested. Mashumi is opposing the application and he argued that no one forced the applicant to append her signature on the affidavit.
Agreed
He claimed that all parties signed voluntarily as it was agreed and the document was then transmitted to the estate agent. “I submit that I am not involved in the running of the estate as I repudiated benefitting. I do not even know its status as of now. It is an insult to my life and dignity to be pulled to court on allegations of selling estate property yet I am not involved in same,” argued Mashumi. The applicants are represented by Nomthandazo Gule of Gule N Attorneys, while the respondents are represented by lawyers from SK Dlamini Attorneys. The matter is pending in court.