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A bitter squabble over land is unfolding in the Pretoria High Court, involving real estate mogul Rali Mampeule and the department of health's director of nutrition Faith Masala, with the latter demanding her money back following a botched sale agreement.
Masala cites that a "bizarre" agreement was concluded in 2011 when Mampeule acted on behalf of a nonexistent entity and sold her a plot of land in Tzaneen, Limpopo, for R270 000.
The claim cited Phadima Phadima Group Holdings as the second respondent.
"In the circumstances, Mampeule acted on behalf of a non-existent principal, alternatively without authorisation and, as such, is liable on the agreement," read the court papers.
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City Press understands that the court will announce a trial date, after the exchange of documents from the parties was completed on January 17 2023.
In the claim, Masala mentioned paying R80 000 to Mampeule's lawyers, towards attending to the transfer.
Masala later paid R50 000, bringing the total amount to R130 000 – and there was still an outstanding balance of R140 000 to be paid.
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"The first defendant advised the plaintiff that she would be allowed to pay the balance of R140 000 later because, in any event, the township had not yet been proclaimed. The township was never proclaimed and the plaintiff began hearing rumours that the defendants had sold the development,” the papers say.
Mampeule, who completed an advanced management development programme in real estate at Harvard University in the US, became the first South African to be elected as a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council in 2019.
Masala told City Press that she wanted to contact her lawyers first but later said she does not want to comment.
"You can write your story but do not include me," she said.
