The man at the heart of the illegal sale of pockets of land in the Vaal has been arrested several times before but seems to be able to get away with his craft.
Andrew Molifi has boldly stated that the sale of stands in Beverly Hills in Sebokeng is part of a programme of allocating people land as the land in the Vaal belongs to the community.
Police sources said Molifi was arrested for theft in Rustenburg, North West, back in 2010 but the case was withdrawn. He was arrested again in Vereeniging in 2015 but the case was also withdrawn.
In 2010, Molifi was part of a group of nine people who were arrested after being accused of illegally selling houses and stands in Soweto, parts of Johannesburg and the Vaal.
In September, the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's) Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) successfully applied to the high court in Pretoria for a preservation order for assets owned by Molifi's company Wildebeesfontein Properties and Projects.
Molifi is appealing against the court’s decision.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said prosecutors cannot put the matter on the court roll as complainants “are not coming forth”.
While some of the residents see Molifi as a good man who helps people with housing issues, others regret having had dealings with him.
In a previous interview in May, after three houses belonging to people who had bought stands from him were demolished, Sowetan alerted him that the Wildebeesfontein Evaton Community organisation has warned him not to continue selling stands but he insisted he had an agreement with the government.
When asked about the fact that claimants of the land say he is illegally using their name to sell stands, Molifi said: “I was born here in Wildebeesfontein. I stay here. Wildebeesfontein is a farm. I’m a beneficiary here. If people do f##k up and when you object, they don’t like you because of your objection.”
Molifi was asked when people who were allocated stands in different parts of the Vaal would get title deeds.
“I’m done with Emfuleni municipal council regarding the people who got stands so that they can get clearance certificates, which will be taken to conveyancers to produce title deeds with their names.”
The Emfuleni local municipality has distanced itself from Molifi, describing him as a scammer.
On Tuesday, he reiterated that his company was in partnership with the national department of human settlements.
The department, however, also distanced itself from him.
dlaminip@sowetan.co.za
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