With his father’s body still fresh in the ground, a duty-bound son has vowed not to rest until he collects an outstanding debt he insists is owed to his late dad from four years ago.
On 10 April, standing in for his father who passed away the day before, 47-year-old Siraaj Garnie dragged one Ivor Wright to Village Magistrate Court demanding a P22, 500 pay day.
Garnie maintains this is a debt dating back to March 2019, when Wright hired his dad to do some work for him.
“My father was introduced to Ivor Wright through my Aunt Charmaine. He was looking for a reliable mechanic and she pointed him to my father,” claims Garnie, airing his grievances to The Voice outside court.
However, he says his dad was unable to finish the job due to health issues and so sent his son to complete the work.
“I charged him [Wright] P17, 500, which he agreed to. Later on he asked me to fix other faults on the machine and the entire sum grew to P22, 500.”
According to Garnie, when the time for payment came, Wright, who owns a construction company based in Gaborone, went quiet, ghosting both father and son.
“When we eventually found him about a month later, he had a nasty and degrading attitude.”
Exhausted from the chase, Garnie and his father sought legal aid.
Sadly, his father passed away the day before the case was due to be heard. As well as the money, the upset son says this is also about his father’s honour.
“Over and above everything, I am haunted by the distasteful words he used to address my late father, calling him ‘good-for-nothing’ in front of his son, the primary reason why I won’t let it go!
“I believe that what I am doing is an honorable deed from a son to his late father,” Garnie concluded assertively.
Representing Wright, who was not present in court, Piyush and Sharma law-firm argued that without any written contract, their client cannot be held accountable for the debt accusation.
Meanwhile, when reached for his side of the story, Ivor Wright’s office said he was unavailable.
The matter is still before the court and will resume on 17 May.