An Eastern Cape ANC ward councillor is embroiled in a dodgy “house sale” after three people have accused her of defrauding them of thousands of rands by allegedly “selling” them all the same house without proper documentation or title deeds.
From interviews with buyers, it was said that Buffalo City Metro Ward 20 councillor Ntombizodwa Gamnca and her husband Andile were paid R350,000.
Gamnca refused to answer questions on Friday when the Daily Dispatch asked her why she had failed to deliver a title deed to a disgruntled resident, the most recent buyer, who paid R300,000 for the house.
The four-room house at the centre of the controversy is situated right next to Gamnca’s home in NU6, Mdantsane. Gamnca’s own home has two rows of rooms built at the back and on the side.
At the centre of the dispute is the title deed which Gamnca has promised to provide over time, but has never done so.
Asked why she had “sold” one house to three, or even more buyers, Gamnca said: “I don’t want to answer this in the paper. It’s a personal matter.”
When she was pressed for answers she said: “I am not going to answer anything to you. I am still standing on that. This is all political.”
However, her husband Andile Gamnca confirmed a payment of R300,000 was made to his Nedbank account in June last year.
When asked why the latest buyer, Ntombizanele Malibeni, had not received her title deed eight months after the payment was made to his account, Andile said: “The house belongs to Nokuphumla [his wife, Gamnca]. The title deed is not out yet. It is still with the municipality.”
When asked about another buyer, Monde Tyokolo, who told the Dispatch he paid R50,000 to Gamnca in 2010, Andile went quiet for a few seconds and then said he did not want to comment further.
A distraught Malibeni, speaking from her place of work in Mpumalanga, said: “I met with Nokuphumla and her husband and transferred the money to him in June as she said she had many debts that could deduct the money from her account. They charged me R310,000 and I said I would pay the remaining R10,000 once the ceiling and the kitchen cupboards had been installed, as we agreed.
“She said I should pay the R300,000 immediately so that she could fix the issues as soon as possible. She even took me to a local carpenter to choose the design I wanted for my cupboards.
“I have moved my furniture into the house and my nephew sleeps at the house.
“However, my biggest problem is that the title deed is not forthcoming as per our agreement and the ceiling and the cupboards have also not been installed,” said Malibeni.
“When I called her in December I said I want my title deed or my money back.
“R300,000 is a lot of money and I’m very stressed because should any of the people involved die, my children would never get the money or the title deed.
“I have not gone to the police because I was still giving her a chance. They have been ignoring my calls since December.”
Tyokolo told the Dispatch that he took the matter to a law firm in 2010 after the title deed was not forthcoming and after he found new tenants living in the house.
“I paid her R50,000 in 2010 after she and her husband charged me R100,000 for the house but I refused to pay in full and just paid the deposit. I was the first owner who bought that house, it was still a shebeen. I was waiting for a title deed when I found other people had occupied the house claiming to have also bought it from her. Even though I took the matter to the lawyers I never got my money back,” said Tyokolo.
According to Tyokolo’s attorney Loyiso Godongwana, Gamnca was issued with summons by the Mdantsane magistrate’s court concerning the matter.
Peggy Matshaya, widow of Odwa “KK” Matshaya, said Odwa also bought the house from Gamnca.
Matshaya said Gamnca told her husband she had inherited the house from a granny she was taking care of and who owned the house.
“My late husband bought that house from Nokuphumla [his wife’s name given to her after marriage] and fixed it.
“For years he wanted the title deed but Nokuphumla would not deliver. They fought over the title deed issue,” said the woman whose husband died last year.
Two anonymous sources, who work at BCM, said according to the metro’s records the house was currently owned by D. Mbangxa.
NU6 resident and Malibeni’s sister Sindiswa Magela said the issue had caused a rift in her family. “I have reported the matter to the regional ANC and secretary Antonio Carels is well aware of the problem.”
However when called for comment Carels said he was in a meeting and asked to be called an hour later. When the Dispatch responded to his text message that read “please text me”, he did not respond...