Johannesburg – Former VBS chief operations officer Robert Madzonga has left the mother of his children an unbonded mansion worth R25-million in the exclusive Waterfall Equestrian Estate in Joburg.
The mansion, which Madzonga and his ex-wife Thando Madzonga acquired through Madzonga Family Trust in 2010, is nestled on a 10 000m plot of land.
It is not known when the property was paid off, but Madzonga appeared to have left it to his wife as part of a sett lement when they divorced some years ago.
It is also not clear whether Madzonga, who is now a priest, was still a trustee of the trust.
But it appears that correspondences are still sent to his e-mail address. News of the luxury property came to the fore when Waterfall Equestrian Estate director Ibrahim Mia applied for an eviction order to kick out Thando and the trust out of the estate after they failed to pay the property rates and taxes to the City of Joburg.
In the court papers, which are in our possession, Mia said the estate was the registered owner of the 10 000m stand on which the Madzonga’s property was built.
The curator said Thando and Madzonga, using the trust, had acquired leasehold to acquire rights in respect of the property and built a family home on the massive stand. He said the lease agreement was notarially registered on December 14 2010 and Madzonga’s wife took occupation and became liable to pay the municipal accounts imposed by the city.
“In the fullness of time, Mr and Mrs Madzonga caused a palatial home to be built on the property. The property is valued at R25.5-million.
“This appears from the valuations on the City of Joburg’s account. As there is no mortgage bond registered against the leasehold right, the property is unencumbered,” read the papers.
Mia said the trust and Madzonga, who have been paying City of Joburg charges in the region of R18 000 a month, were now R620 000 in arrears after defaulting on payment for several years.
He said the account was handed over to the lawyers who obtained a default judgment against the two on December 17 last year, after they failed to fi le an appearance to defend the case.
Madzonga and the trust were notified that if they failed to settle the arrears, the estate will terminate the lease agreement and evict them from the property.
After failing to sett le the arrears, the estate cancelled the lease agreement on February 9 this year and ordered the duo to vacate the property, but they refused. He said Thando told them that she was unable to sett le the arrears because she had fallen on hard times.
Mia disputed this and said Thando was hiding her assets. Mia pleaded with the court to grant the estate an eviction order to kick her and the children out of the property and place another tenant in it.
The matter will be heard be in court soon. Madzonga and other VBS executives, Limpopo ANC treasurer Danny Msiza, and former ANC youth leader Kabelo Matsepe were among those charged and later released on bail by the Palm Ridge Commercial Court in March this year for allegedly looting nearly R2-billion from the mutual bank, which was later liquidated.
The bank’s former chief financial officer, Phillip Truter, was the only defendant to plead guilty in a plea bargain that off ered lesser jail time in exchange for turning state witness.
Madzonga was al so embroiled in a legal batt le with the VBS curator, who wanted to sequestrate him. He was implicated as one of the people at the centre of the downfall of the Limpopo bank, and was accused of having benefi ted to the tune of R30-million from the looted bank.
Madzonga said he was not aware that his family was about to be evicted from the estate.
“I gave her the house as part of the sett lement when we divorced many years ago and I’m no longer a trustee of that trust,” he said.
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