A Khayelitsha actress is crossing swords with land pirates who have desecrated the shrine of slain honeymoon bride Anni Dewani.
|||A Khayelitsha actress is at war with people who she claims have desecrated the shrine of slain honeymoon bride Anni Dewani.
Andrea Dondolo, who plays Ayanda in popular SABC2 sitcom Stokvel and Mama in Leon Schuster’s Mama Jack, is applying for a High Court interdict to stop the pirates who, she claims, are building a house illegally on her plot in Sinqolamthi Street, Ilitha Park, in Khayelitsha.
All trace of Anni’s shrine was removed when workers cleared the plot and began digging foundations in late November last year.
The plot in dispute was flashed across TV screens worldwide in November 2010 after Anni’s body was found on the back seat of a taxi that her killers abandoned on the pavement next to the property.
The murder case has remained in the headlines since then as Anni’s husband Shrien Dewani continues to fight his extradition from the UK.
The SAPS claims it has strong proof that Dewani hired taxi driver Zola Tongo to have Anni killed during a fake hijacking.
Tongo negotiated a plea bargain and is serving an 18-year sentence. Prosecutors are hoping Dewani will stand trial this year with accused hitmen Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni.
In March last year, Anni’s parents Vinod and Nilam Hindocha returned to the crime scene with a Hindu priest who blessed the shrine that they laid on Dondolo’s plot.
After the moving ceremony Dondolo, who lives next door, paid her respects to the Hindochas and offered them a corner of her property to erect a permanent memorial for Anni. Since then the Hindochas have stayed in contact with Dondolo who recently received their New Year’s wishes by SMS.
But so far 2012 has been a nightmare for Dondolo who claims she bought the plot while she was working in Joburg last year, and paid a R35 000 cash deposit to Sikumbuzo Silo in July.
According to Dondolo, she was buying the land back after being forced to sell it to Silo when she hit hard times financially in 2007. Part of the sale agreement was that he give her first option if he ever wanted to sell.
When Dondolo returned from Joburg last year, she says she tried unsuccessfully to contact Silo to finalise the sale. When workers started digging foundations, she hired an attorney to trace Silo and discovered that he had sold the plot a second time.
“I almost cracked I was in so much shock,” says Dondolo who rejected attempts by Silo to refund her deposit and wants him to honour the sale.
On December 7, after negotiations between all parties, Silo signed a deed of sale.
But to Dondolo’s dismay, building accelerated next door last month. “I have never seen a house being built so fast,” says Dondolo.
“I think they are trying to force me to accept Silo’s deposit and walk away. But I can fight. It’s gloves off. Buying that land was my investment for bad times. I want to show people that they must stand up for their rights when this happens to them.”
Painful memories of Anni’s tragic death are making Dondolo’s fight doubly distressing. “What’s happened next door really hurts not just me but Anni’s parents as well. They have been through enough and don’t need this heartache as well. Anni’s shrine was holy. It was blessed by a priest. It’s disgusting that it has been treated this way.” - Saturday Star