Court of Appeal Judges will in a week’s time hear an appeal brought before them by Abraham Malan who is appealing against Lobatse High Court judge Michael Leburu.
In an appeal Malan had filed in Justice Leburu’s Court, Justice Leburu upheld judgment by the Palapye Land Tribunal’s judge Phetsolo Nare who had ruled that Malan’s claim for chunks of land in Kgatleng District did not have merit.
Concurring with Nare, Leburu, amongst other things, said that like Nare had found, it is a fact that Malan’s grandfather, Steinberg, had acquired some land for various uses in Kgatleng District but that the pre colonial era or promulgation of Land Board Authority all land was under customary or traditional leadership and as such incapable of private ownership.
Malan was also ordered to pay the costs of the case to Kgatleng Land Board and other respondents in the matter.
The judges will also hear a case in which Phakalane Estates is appealing against judgment passed by Lobatse High Court judge Lot Moroka in a case Phakalane Estates wants ownership of two plots bought from it by Samuel Mpaesele to be transferred back to the Estate because Mpaesele has failed to meet conditions set for buying the plots.
When dismissing the case by Phakalane Estates, Moroka had said that the Managing Director of Phakalane had, in his affidavit to the Court, failed to prove that its consultants had determined a date of completion of the township structure and that the date of completion was not even listed in the Government Gazette as required.
Further to that, the High Court judge said that Magang of Phakalane Estates had only made bold statements about consultants of the Estate but did not say who they are.
