CLAIMS MASTER’S OFFICE FEARED LAWYER ANDREAS

MBABANE – A woman who appeared before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry yesterday alleged that a Master’s Office officer told her that they were afraid of then lawyer, Andreas Lukhele.

Lukhele is now a judge of the Industrial Court of Appeal. The master said Lukhele used to represent the girlfriend of Phineas Makama, who died in 1997, Lizzy Nkambule. However, Gugu Makama had informed the commission that her father died in 2006. Lukhele, according to Gugu, was the executor in the estate of her father and the master said she was not sure how he was appointed as the executor. Gugu alleged that at the Master’s Office, her family was forced to work with Lukhele, despite that they did not want to work with him. Gugu, who appeared before the commission with her sister, Xolile Makama, stated that her father had a girlfriend, Nkambule, and was initially appointed the executrix of her father’s estate.

According to Gugu, they did not know who appointed Nkambule at the Master’s Office, as she was not present. Gugu said the master called them to her offices and informed them that Nkambule was the executrix and they were surprised how, because she was their father’s girlfriend. She said their father owned three motor vehicles, a home at Nkwalini Zone 4, plot at Ngwane Park and a policy at Liberty Life worth E88 000. She told the commission that they were shocked by the appointment of Nkambule as executrix, yet she was not a Makama. Gugu alleged that their father’s plot at Ngwane Park was sold at an amount they had not agreed upon. She submitted that the plot had been advertised for sale in the newspapers for outstanding rates.

“They told us to evaluate it. We requested that they should remove Lizzy (Nkambule) and Andreas because we did not know them. They removed Lizzy and left Andreas to continue, but we stated that we could not continue with him, because he had not given us the policy money. What if he sold the plot and we then failed to locate him?” Gugu alleged. Gugu told the commission that she was appointed executrix after Nkambule had been removed. She alleged that the plot at Ngwane Park was sold a month after her appointment and she did not know about the sale.

Cheque

“I was shown a cheque of E86 000 and thought it was money from the policy at Liberty Life, but they said it was proceeds from the sale of the plot. I enquired why this was not the amount we had agreed upon and I was told to ask Lukhele. The plot was valued at E220 000. We were told that the E86 000 cheque had been received from Andreas,” said Gugu. She told the commission that Lukhele said he did not sell the plot. The complainant told the commission that she wrote to Lukhele, enquiring about the sale of the plot at a lesser amount. Judge Mzwandile Fakudze, reading from a document, told Gugu that the plot was sold at E130 000 and E30 000 was paid to the municipal council and E40 000 for attorneys, that was probably why they received a cheque of E86 000. Gugu said the issue was that the plot was evaluated to E220 000 and ‘I don’t know who sold it’. “At the Master’s Office, we were forced to continue with Andreas, yet we did not want him. They said he would not do anything without involving me. He went on to sell it.”

Judge Majahenkhaba Dlamini enquired if the plot was not sold by Nkambule and she said that was possible. The judge also asked Gugu what became of the policy and she alleged that they did not receive anything from it. Gugu said the master told her to claim at the bank and she was told at Nedbank that she had no right to claim it as the executrix, because it was under attorneys. She stated that the bank did not put that in writing. Judge Maxine Langwenya asked who the attorneys were and she said ‘they said it was Andreas’. Gugu submitted that the motor vehicles were sold, except for one that was non-running. Judge Langwenya also enquired from Gugu as to what she had done as the executrix.

Policy

She narrated that she was informed at the Master’s Office that her duties included collecting what had been collected and she brought the issue of Liberty Life policy to the attention of the master and the homestead at Nkwalini Zone 4.  “I did not collect anything. I requested that the file be closed but I was told that Andreas had to be written to. They ended up telling me that they are afraid of Andreas and he was not responding to letters written to him,” alleged Gugu. Judge Lorraine Hlophe asked who had said that and Gugu told the commission that she did not know because officers in the Master’s Office did not introduce themselves. Judge Hlophe said the officers should consider wearing name tags. Judge President Sifiso Nsibande asked what happened to the deceased’s Will and she said it was given to the family elders. Master of the High Court Phumzile Thomo said one of the siblings, who are all sisters, complained that Gugu did not want them at the Zone 4 homestead and she was renting out the property.

Gugu, however, denied that. She said there was a three-bedroom house as well as her two-room house, which she was occupying. She is alleged to be residing in the Republic of South Africa. The master said E80 000 was paid from Liberty Life to Dunseith Attorneys and there was a letter from Liberty Life dated May 12, 1998 to that effect. She also told the commission that the master had consented to the sale of the plot at Ngwane Park for E130 000 and that Dunseith Attorneys drew up a distribution account, reflecting the policy and plot. Gugu maintained that they received nothing from the estate. Thomo said proceeds of the sale were deposited at the Master’s Office and the money was still there.

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