Sick Mdantsane granny Nomfusi Manene, taken in by her brother after her RDP house was invaded by a stranger, died this week still calling for her own home.
She told the Dispatch about her plight a month ago.
Manene, who turned 60 last week, died on Monday evening at Nontyatyambo health centre after her children took her to the clinic when they noticed she was struggling to breathe.
Despite having documents to prove she owned the RDP house in NU3, Manene has been unable to move into the house since 2016, when Mzunzima Magemntu allegedly took down her curtains and invaded it after contractors found they could not build his RDP house because of a pipe found on his site.
As a result of the stress, her family said, Manene suffered two strokes and was unable to talk or walk.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the granny at the end of October, she was in bed, in nappies and unable to move.
Her ward councillor, Zininzi Mtyingizane, denied claims that she had given her approval to the illegal occupation of Manene's house.
Manene's son Sithembele said: “My mother was failed by BCM for years. There is no door we did not knock on. The proof was there, the house belonged to her. But they did nothing for years and let her suffer. The shack she lived in burnt down and she had to live with her brother. She did not deserve all of this.
“We will bury her from her rightful house. She died crying for that house and we want to honour her wish even if it is in death. We went to the invaders on Wednesday but we did not find the main invader so we left the message. We are in so much pain as a family.
"While we are grieving and mourning we still face a battle over the house. It's the most painful thing we have ever experienced. Losing a mother is hard enough. We really should not be fighting during this time but it is the right thing to do.”
Magemntu said he would never be booted out of the house.
Gogo who was pushed out of her RDP home dies
Image: MAMELA NDAMASE
Sick Mdantsane granny Nomfusi Manene, taken in by her brother after her RDP house was invaded by a stranger, died this week still calling for her own home.
She told the Dispatch about her plight a month ago.
Manene, who turned 60 last week, died on Monday evening at Nontyatyambo health centre after her children took her to the clinic when they noticed she was struggling to breathe.
Despite having documents to prove she owned the RDP house in NU3, Manene has been unable to move into the house since 2016, when Mzunzima Magemntu allegedly took down her curtains and invaded it after contractors found they could not build his RDP house because of a pipe found on his site.
As a result of the stress, her family said, Manene suffered two strokes and was unable to talk or walk.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the granny at the end of October, she was in bed, in nappies and unable to move.
Her ward councillor, Zininzi Mtyingizane, denied claims that she had given her approval to the illegal occupation of Manene's house.
Manene's son Sithembele said: “My mother was failed by BCM for years. There is no door we did not knock on. The proof was there, the house belonged to her. But they did nothing for years and let her suffer. The shack she lived in burnt down and she had to live with her brother. She did not deserve all of this.
“We will bury her from her rightful house. She died crying for that house and we want to honour her wish even if it is in death. We went to the invaders on Wednesday but we did not find the main invader so we left the message. We are in so much pain as a family.
"While we are grieving and mourning we still face a battle over the house. It's the most painful thing we have ever experienced. Losing a mother is hard enough. We really should not be fighting during this time but it is the right thing to do.”
Magemntu said he would never be booted out of the house.
Granny living in shambles after RDP house 'invaded'
He said: “I heard that the family was there but I'm not going to agree to their request. I live in that house now. It won't be possible to have a funeral to be done from my place. I accept that it is her house but I was not going to accept another person from another area to get a house in my area when I did not get one despite qualifying for one.
“They must bury her from the house she was staying at now. ”
When the Dispatch contacted Mtyingizane on Thursday she said Manene was “very unlucky” as other destitute families from the ward did get their houses.
She said: “The municipality is in the process of evicting invaders of RDP houses but that is a long process. I heard that her family now wants to bury her from the house, but as a ward councillor I can't encourage that as that will lead to a fight.”
Asked what would happen to the house now that Manene had died, Mtyingizane said Manene's children would inherit the house.
Despite numerous attempts to get answers, BCM spokesperson Samnkelo Ngwenya failed to respond to questions sent on October 29 and again on Thursday.
Human settlements MEC Nonkqubela Pieters’s spokesperson Masiza Mazizi said the department had spoken to BCM about the housing issues that affected Manene.
He said: “The municipality committed to resolve the matter with speed. It is the municipality that can better respond directly to this unfortunate situation. We are very sorry to the Manene family for their loss.”
mamelan@dispatch.co.za
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