A Durban businessman who has been living rent free in a R35,000-a-month Umhlanga Ridge penthouse for two years has pleaded poverty as he opposes a court application for his eviction from the R12m property.
Siqu Zungu, 52, who is linked to the Umzinyathi Business Forum, is embroiled in a court battle against his landlord who is trying to evict him.
Zungu lives in the four-bedroom duplex penthouse in one of Durban's smartest addresses which has panoramic views of the sea. The property sits on the fourth and fifth floors of luxury Herrwood Skye estate, a hi-tech complex which Durban estate agents describe as offering among the city’s best sea views.
Landlord Dr Blaine Bloy has approached the regional court in Durban for an eviction order against Zungu, who apparently owes him about R400,000 after he allegedly stopped paying rent in July 2021. The matter is expected to be heard in court in November.
"[Zungu] has repeatedly been given notice ... to vacate the premises and despite numerous ... undertakings to do so, has failed to vacate the property residing in unlawful occupation,” Bloy states in court papers.
In his responding papers, Zungu said he is unemployed and struggling to provide for his family who live with him. He also says his financial situation renders him unable to find alternative accommodation and he may end up homeless should the court grant Bloy an eviction order.
He never paid me R3.5m. This is the first time he's making such a claim. This is absolute rubbish
— Dr Blaine Bloy, landlord
In response to a request for comment from the Sunday Times, Zungu said he moved into the property intending to buy it and paid the owner R3.5m as a down payment. The owner denies this.
In his court papers, Zungu also called on eThekwini Municipality, which is party to the court case, “to provide my family and I with emergency housing in the event that an order is granted”. The metro is yet to file responding papers.
“Evicting me from my home will no doubt impinge on my rights to human dignity as enshrined in our constitution. I will be rendered homeless with my family.”
This week, Zungu’s lawyers threatened to go to court to interdict the Sunday Times from publishing this article.
On Friday evening, Zungu, wearing a gold gown, confronted a Sunday Times photographer, demanding to know why the property was being photographed. Driving a double-cab bakkie, Zungu told the photographer that the Sunday Times had been interdicted, before asking which page the article would be published on. He also asked for the name of the Sunday Times editor before driving off.
When approached for comment on Thursday, Zungu initially declined, saying the matter was before court. Asked why he was staying in a property he apparently cannot afford, Zungu hung up the phone.
Bloy alleges in court papers that Zungu owes the Monte Christo Trust that owns the property, and of which he is a trustee, about R400,000 in rent “despite having irrevocably and unconditionally admitted liability” for it. Bloy said Zungu is now occupying the penthouse unlawfully.
He said the initial lease agreement concluded in September 2019. It was renewed on the same terms in June 2020 for a year, until June 2021. Since then, Zungu has remained without paying rent and has refused to move, Bloy said in court papers.
However, Zungu’s lawyer Mahommed Moideen responded to e-mailed questions saying Zungu moved into the property with the intention of buying it.
“As a show of good faith, Mr Zungu was called upon by Mr Bloy to pay a deposit of R3.5m in order to secure the deal whereafter a written purchase and sale agreement was to be prepared and signed between Mr Zungu and the Trust,” he said via email.
“Mr Zungu, in an attempt to demonstrate his bona fides, had borrowed the amount of R3.5m from a colleague and had accordingly paid the said sum to Mr Bloy in cash in or about 2019.”
Zungu, through his lawyer, said that the purchase price of the penthouse, which was allegedly set at R9m, was raised to R12m when he asked for the agreement to be put into writing. That was when relations soured, he said.
“Despite the breakdown of the relationship, Mr Bloy had retained the R3.5m paid by Mr Zungu in cash which was a major contributor to Mr Zungu’s precarious financial position,” Moideen wrote.
In his responses, the lawyer said Bloy sent “armed henchmen” to threaten Zungu and his family to try to forcibly remove them.
Bloy denied Zungu's allegations.
“He never paid me R3.5m. This is the first time he's making such a claim. This is absolute rubbish,” Bloy told the Sunday Times.
Bloy said that the trust bought the house for R9.5m in 2016 and he has spent about R500,000 trying to evict Zungu, without success. He said Zungu has decorated his property with fine furniture, including a grand piano.
Bloy said that in an incident in January last year, when he hired a removal company to remove him from the property, Zungu refused and fired a shot into the ceiling. He shared pictures to illustrate his allegation.
Neither Zungu nor his lawyer responded to this allegation.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.