A rift has developed between a group of District Six land claimants and their former adviser and traditional leader, Tania Kleinhans.
|||Cape Town - A rift has developed between a group of District Six land claimants and their former adviser and traditional leader, Tania Kleinhans.
Seven women, who made headlines in July when they invaded government-built homes in District Six, have accused Kleinhans of swindling them out of R750 each.
They have also accused her of compromising their legal appeal against eviction and of holding on to personal documents, which prove they are former District Six residents.
Mario Wanza, of the re-launched United Democratic Front, is supporting the women and earlier this week used the platform to circulate press releases outlining the allegations against Kleinhans.
“The money should have gone to legal fees, but there is no proof this has happened. Kleinhans failed to arrive at court on the day an appeal against the eviction was to be heard. Permission for leave to appeal was thus reversed,” Wanza said.
On Wednesday morning, Kleinhans said Wanza was misinformed. She added R750, the amount paid by each claimant towards legal costs, was a negligible amount, considering what attorney fees in the High Court amounted to.
Kleinhans intends suing Wanza for defamation and threatened civil suits against media who republish the women’s “baseless allegations”.
Kleinhans, secretary-general of the Institute for the Restoration of the Aborigines of SA, said the women accusing her of fraud had duped her into believing they had proof of being former District Six residents.
Kleinhans will lead a march on Parliament on Wednesday to hand over a memorandum on behalf of former residents.
Cape Argus