Old woman seeks court order to evict grandson – ” I am not going anywhere until you show me my father as you promised- grandson
An unemployed young man from Gabane village has been left with more questions than answers after his grandmother who lured him from his mother’s home as a child with a promise to re-unite him with his estranged biological father seeks to evict him after 20 years.
33-year-old Merapelo Moamogwe was on Thursday morning dragged before Mogoditshane Customary Court by his grandmother Tshegofatso Baiphetlhi who wanted a court order to throw him out.
Although Baiphetlhi had advanced rudeness as the main reason he wanted Moamogwe out of her yard, the case turned dramatic when Moamogwe revealed his side of story.
Explaining why she wanted Moamogwe out of his yard, Baiphetlhi claimed her grand child had verbally abused her and damaged her property.
“He insults me saying ‘ga ke swabe ke a shenama’ accusing me of getting inside his house, which is basically one f my houses that I have given him to stay in and even when I explain why I entered the house, he continues to insult me. He damages my house windows and leaves taps running, spilling water all over. I m afraid of him, he is so angry he looks like he could hurt me or even burn me inside the house,” explained Baiphetlhi.
However Moamogwe has disputed his granny’s accusations.
He told the court how the old woman took him from his mother’s house when he was a schoolboy is standard 4 with an excuse that she wanted to introduce him to his biological father because his mom was now married to someone else.
“The issue brought a misunderstanding between me and my stepfather who complained bitterly that he was being denied the opportunity to be my father and therefore he was going to disinherit me, but now my grandmother who never introduced me to my father all these years is evicting me from home and abandoning me on the streets,” lamented the distressed man.
He further told the court that his grandmother started mistreating him after his uncle and son returned from wherever they have been to stay at the old woman’s place. “ She banned me from entering her house and even stopped giving me food when she cooked.”
When asked by Chief Tswina Mochudi if he knew his biological father, Moamogwe said he knew who he was and would have loved to live with him had he been introduced officially to him as the grandmother had promised to do.
Interviewed after court Moamogwe briefly said the issue depressed him greatly.
In her testimony Moamogwe’s mother, 53-year-old Betty Moamogwe confirmed that the man is his first-born son who was taken away from her by her mother who wanted to take him his dad, claiming her husband was ill-treating the boy.
When asked by the chief what action she took as a mother when the child was taken away from her, Betty said the issue really hurt her but there was nothing she could do since the family elders were in support of the granny’s decision.
“The issue is difficult for me because my husband is not happy that he was denied the opportunity to be the father to my son,” said Betty further explaining that she had never shown her son his biological father.
“I am really hurting and my son is hurting too, it’s like he is lost, he doesn’t have parents.”
When asked to say her last words, Baiphetlhi stood her ground and ordered Moamogwe to get out of her yard, suggesting that he could return to his mother’s home or look for a house to rent.
At the end Kgosi Mochudi ruled that Baiphetlhi should follow the right procedure to return Moamogwe to his parents or take him to the father that she had initially promised to take him to and then come back to inform the court about her choice of solution.
As for now, the court ordered that Moamogwe continue living at Baiphetlhi’s place till she decides which of the two suggested solutions she would like to take.
