WINDHOEK – The dust refuses to settle in the housing saga of a Katutura home that was previously owned by an elderly man and reportedly sold under dubious circumstances.
The latest development is that the family of the man who sold the house but who is now deceased, on Tuesday night spent several hours behind bars for refusing to vacate the disputed house.
The family of seven adults and three children, the youngest being a seven-month-old baby girl, were held in the police holding cells and were only released after social workers intervened.
The family was left without a roof over their heads after they were forcefully removed from their Single Quarters home at Erf 4956 in Genesis Street.
It all started in October 2011 when Justine Ndukireepo the sister of the late Rudolf Ndukireepo and his brother Emmanuel, who is now fighting to regain the house, and an accomplice allegedly plied the late Rudolf with alcohol before coercing him to sign papers to sell the house, making him believe he would be allowed to lease one of the rooms for business purposes.
But in less than six months, the late Rudolf was served with an eviction order and other documents stating he had received money as payment for the house and should move off the premises.
The occupying family last week survived an eviction attempt but on Tuesday night it was different as they spent the entire night outside their house with nowhere else to go.
The police had confiscated their belongings for their alleged stubbornness to vacate the disputed property.
Wilhelmina Ndukireepo (45) the wife of Emmanuel said the police arrested her husband in the late afternoon at around 13h00 on Tuesday for refusing to vacate the property.
Emmanuel who was yesterday released on bail of N$500 for trespassing said that at 17h00 police took him to the house to instruct his family to vacate the premises.
“When I told them [the police] that I would not do it that is when they handcuffed my wife and my children and took them to the police holding cells,” narrated Emmanuel.
“They forcefully removed our belongings from the house after we refused to leave because we have nowhere to go,” said Wilhelmina.
The police then handcuffed her, her daughter, granddaughter of seven months, an eleven-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy.
“We were released from the holding cells at twelve midnight thanks to the intervention of social workers,” said an evidently disconcerted Wilhelmina.
She said her medication and the family’s food were some of the belongings confiscated by overzealous police.
“I feel bad because my children did not go to school today, their uniforms are part of our confiscated belongings. We sat up all night after we were released and we did not eat anything till now,” said Wilhelmina.
She maintained the family would stay put as they have nowhere else to live.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel avowed he would not give up on his late brother’s house without a fight. He argued his brother who died last February had no intention of selling the house at all and records show that he only received N$30 000 from the woman who dubiously bought the house, while claims from the buyers are that N$50 000 was deposited in the late Rudolf’s account.
“We wanted to give them back their N$30 000 but they refused saying they invested too much, so now it is a matter of lawyers intervening, but we don’t always have the money to pay them,” explained Emmanuel.
“I was told by the court not to go back to my house but I will go there. Maybe they will come and arrest me there again but I will not leave, I have a family including school-going children. I am consulting with lawyers on the way forward,” he said.
Katutura Central Constituency Councillor Ambrosius Kandjii was in consultation with all relevant parties to ensure the family is not evicted from the house again.
He believes the “inhumane manner” in which the family was treated considering the house was sold under allegedly dubious circumstances was uncalled for.
“We are looking for strategies on how the matter can be resolved. If people want to do business they should do business but not in unclean ways,” said Kandjii referring to people allegedly tricking pensioners to sell their houses.
Yesterday afternoon the family confirmed they had decided to sleep in the house while a solution is being sought.
The woman implicated in buying the house, Zaapi Mungendje, was not immediately available for comment.
“I’m driving now my dear, call me back later,” she said.
By Alvine Kapitako