…as heirs fight over Maputsoe commercial property
…amid other long-running land cases involving the Abubakers
Kabelo Masoabi
ANOTHER land dispute involving an Abubaker family member has rocked Leribe, where the heirs of deceased businessman, Aslam Abubaker, are fighting to secure ownership of commercial property in Maputsoe allegedly purchased for M450 000 in 2000.
The case, now before the Leribe Magistrate’s Court, adds to a series of protracted land disputes involving members of the Abubaker family, some of which date back decades and have raised questions over property transfers, leases and ownership.
The latest dispute pits Aslam Abubaker’s heirs against Tau Mokhofu, who allegedly sold the deceased businessman portions of two commercial plots but later transferred one of the properties to his son.
The heirs, represented by Advocate Motiea Teele KC, are seeking the transfer of the portions they say their father purchased under a sale agreement.
The property accommodates several rental businesses, while Mr Mokhofu also operates a butchery on the premises.
Testifying before Resident Magistrate Bokang Makhaketso, the 88-year-old Mr Mokhofu said he sold Aslam half of Plot No. 147, for which he already held a lease, and half of adjacent Plot No. 153, which was then held under a Form C title document.
He said the parties signed a sale agreement and that Aslam paid the agreed M450,000.
However, Mr Mokhofu only obtained a lease for Plot No. 153 in November 2015, about 15 years after the alleged sale, before transferring it to his son, Morapeli Mokhofu, in May 2016.
Adv Teele questioned why Mr Mokhofu had transferred the property to his son instead of facilitating the transfer of the portion allegedly sold to Aslam.
“I gave him his portion of the site in terms of our deed of sale agreement,” Mr Mokhofu responded.
The dispute also concerns Plot No. 147, which Mr Mokhofu said he attempted to use as collateral for a bank loan in 2006, only to discover that it had already been registered in Aslam’s name.
Mr Mokhofu denied transferring the property to the businessman, alleging that his signature on the deed of transfer was forged.
“I never transferred the title deed to Abubaker. My signature was forged on the document he presented as a deed of transfer, which he claims I transferred to him,” he told the court.
He said he approached the High Court in 2010 seeking to have the transfer declared invalid.
Adv Teele challenged his account, questioning how he could identify the signature as forged when he had previously testified that his eyesight was already poor at the time.
Mr Mokhofu said his son had informed him that the signature was forged. He also denied knowing that his elder son, Moroke Steven Mokhofu, had signed the disputed document as a witness.
The lawyer further questioned why Mr Mokhofu had failed to facilitate the subdivision and transfer of the portions allegedly sold to Aslam over the years, leaving the deceased businessman with a deed of sale but without the registered ownership his heirs are now pursuing.
A central issue in the proceedings is a High Court order issued by former Chief Justice Nthomeng Majara on 30 May 2010. Adv Teele told the court that the order directed the subdivision of the two properties, which had been consolidated under title number 22124-179, to allocate Aslam a portion measuring 35 metres by 73 metres.
He further said Mr Mokhofu had entered into an agreement with Aslam to resolve the dispute by complying with the order.
Asked whether he would oppose its implementation, Mr Mokhofu said he had no objection, provided his lawyer was involved in discussions on how to proceed.
The case continues before Resident Magistrate Bokang Makhaketso.
Other Abubakers in court
The Aslam matter is the latest in a series of property disputes involving the Abubakers in Leribe.
In another long-running dispute, four daughters of the late Tšoanelo Lekena are challenging a lease issued in the name of businessman Mahommed Abubaker over a commercial property in Hlotse.
The daughters — Lebohang, Lerata, Limakatso and Liqabang Lekena — claim their father was allocated Plot No. 13875 at Hlotse’s Lisemeng area in 1978, two years before his death.
They say they only discovered in 2013 that a lease had allegedly been issued to Mahommed in 2001, when Lebohang went to local government offices to register the property in the family’s name.
Mahommed claims to have entered into negotiations over the property with the late Mr Lekena in the mid-1990s and to have occupied the premises peacefully for the past 34 years.
Lebohang disputes this account, saying her father had died around 1980 — more than a decade before the alleged negotiations.
The Lekena family is seeking documents showing how the property was transferred and how the lease was obtained.
The court is yet to determine the validity of the lease and who is legally entitled to the property. The matter is being heard by Resident Magistrate Motšoene.
Another dispute involves Leribe businessman, Ivone Mafisa, who has been fighting to reclaim a commercial site in Maputsoe from Fathima (Pty) Ltd, a company belonging to Afzal Abubaker.
Mr Mafisa’s dispute dates back to 2003, when he sought police intervention through the then Ha Manama area chief, Ntšekhe Molapo, to recover the land.
Court papers show that on 20 March 2006, the High Court ordered the cancellation and expunging from the deeds register of three transfer deeds associated with the disputed property.
However, Mr Mafisa later abandoned that order in October 2011 in favour of seeking compensation. According to his court papers, he subsequently launched another application in the Land Court for the District of Leribe in August 2017 after failing to obtain the compensation.
Abubaker disputed Mr Mafisa’s account, arguing in his answering papers that the earlier order had been abandoned by consent in exchange for M100,000 compensation. He also denied that his occupation of the property was unlawful.
The Mafisa matter has dragged on for years, with allegations that court records relating to the dispute have gone missing, further complicating efforts to resolve the ownership question.
Together, the cases highlight the protracted nature of several property disputes in Leribe involving members of the Abubaker family. While the claims differ from one case to another, they centre on contested ownership, property transfers and the validity of title documents.