A row is brewing between two cousins, concerning the inheritance of a house, after both father and uncle of the one and father and uncle of the other passed on.
but now faces a threat of eviction.
The fight is now between Shabeer Omar, son of the late ‘Omie Barber’ and his cousin, Kamala, who he says is the adopted daughter of his late uncle, Abdul Rahman. Shabeer is fighting to stay in the house on Emerald Str, which he says he has been living in for about 30 years. However, the house is in the name of his uncle, Abdul Rahman, who passed on in 2000 and according to Shabeer, since then his father, Omie, had been paying the bond and other expenses of the house. According to Shabeer, his father had a written agreement with his brother Abdul that the house would go into the name of Omie, after the death of his brother, Abdul.
Shabeer explained further to the Laudium Sun, “I have been living at 232 Emerald Street for the past 27 to 30 years. This house originally belonged to my uncle, Abdul Rahman, who passed away in 2000. After his passing, my late father, Omar, who was well known in Laudium as ‘Omie Barber’ — paid off the bond of the property. A 10-page deed of sale was drawn up for the property to be put in my father’s name once paid up and the property was valued at about R87,000 at the time. My father started making bond payments in 2006 and by 2011 he had completed all payments to the bank. My father passed away in 2012 and unfortunately, because of his sudden death, we were unable to obtain the correct title deed for the house. At the time, we thought the property automatically belonged to my father and was in his name, since the bond was fully paid, but due to negligence at the Council offices, the transfer was never completed. We then discovered that on the title deed, the property still reflects my late uncle’s name. We always thought that when we had the money, we would hire a lawyer to do the transfer, since we already had the bond papers as proof of payment.
Sadly, in 2020, our home was destroyed in a fire, and with it, all the paperwork related to the property was destroyed. Since then, my family and I have struggled to rebuild our lives. We approached the Council many times for assistance, but they did not help us. Our family first moved into this house in 1998, through an agreement, and for more than two decades this has been our home. Even my children were born here. Now, in 2025, my cousin, Kamala who was adopted by my uncle Abdul Rahman and who has been absent for over 20 years, has suddenly come forward and reported the estate of her father to the Master’s Office. Our house will now be part of her father’s estate and despite Kamala having the
original documents of the transfer agreement between my father and her father, she wants to now issue us with an eviction order, as she has now been appointed the trustee of her father’s estate. She now claims that the house belongs to her. She has money and power and has hired lawyers, while we are poor and cannot afford proper legal representation. Her claims are false because this house rightfully belongs to us — it was my late father who paid for it in full. It is extremely painful for us to face eviction after nearly 30 years of living here. How can we be forced out of the home that my father sacrificed his life savings to secure for his family? We feel heartbroken and helpless, but we hope that by sharing our story through the Laudium Sun, the truth will come to light and justice will prevail.”
Mikaeel Pillay, the son of Shabeer Omar also of Emerald Street, told the Laudium Sun, “My father has been living in this house for nearly 30 years and it rightfully belongs to him. But because he is poor and due to negligence in transferring the deed of the house, my aunt, Kamala, is now trying to alter the house documents and claim the property as her own. This is not true. The house belongs to my father and in no way does it belong to my aunt. My father has already received a notice that my aunt has been appointed as the executor of my uncle’s estate and now she is threatening to evict my father and all of us living in the house. It is heart breaking for us as we don’t know where we will go. My aunt is being very cruel by doing this just for money. We don’t have the wealth or power to fight, but we believe that God is watching and will make a way for us. We are appealing to the Laudium community to help us. My father is sick and elderly, and he cannot be left on the streets. Please, we ask for support to get our house back.” Attempts to get hold of Kamala for comment were unsuccessful.
The Laudium Sun asked flamboyant attorney, Kineil Muthray, what the procedure is when someone threatens to evict a family from their place of residence of 30 years. Kineil advised Shabeer not to move out from the house, even if there are threats of eviction. Adding, “The occupier should first be receiving a notice of eviction detailing the court date, etc. It is important for the occupier to go to court and present their version why they believe that an eviction order should not be granted. It is then up to the presiding officer to make a final decision. Remember, there can be no lawful eviction without a court order, in fact it is criminal to evict someone without a court order. Then even if a court order for eviction is granted, only the Sherif of the court may execute such order, not anyone else, not even the owner of the property.”