Actress Thembi Seete escapes eviction

Iconic actress and musician Thembi Seete this week acted swiftly and paid more than R50 000 in arrears to avoid losing her home in an affluent estate in Greenstone Hill, east of Johannesburg.

Lawyers of the Strelitzia complex’s body corporate applied for a default judgment at the Pretoria High Court in January after Seete ignored a letter of demand for her to pay more than R40 000 in levy arrears and other related costs last August.

According to court papers, the complex turned to the court after the 45-year-old had missed 16 payments since March 1 2019.

“As of the present, you are indebted to and in favour of the body corporate in the sum of R49 741. The amount is made up of levies, collection costs, interest and other charges. Kindly take note that if you elect to ignore this letter or refuse to make payment as requested, we hold instructions from our client to institute legal proceedings in the recovery of the aforementioned amount,” read the court papers, which City Press has seen.

But that figure had risen to R52 036 by the time she settled the account this week. The court also ordered her to pay 15.5% interest on the debt.

On Friday, Seete’s business manager, Thato Matuka, said they had resolved the matter: “We are aware of this issue and we have since settled it accordingly.”

According to an account statement attached to the summons served on Seete, the monthly levy is R1 073, but that increased after she failed to pay for more than two years.

“The plaintiff [body corporate] is entitled to the levy and collects monthly contributions and other related charges and costs. Despite the letter of demand, the defendant has failed, alternatively refused or neglected, to pay to the plaintiff the amount of R52 036,” reads the judgment.’

The body corporate said the levy and other costs were supposed to be paid on the first of every month.

“The defendant is therefore liable to pay the plaintiff monthly in advance the levy contributions by virtue of his/her ownership of the property.”

Vinoliah Modukanele, the legal representative for the complex’s body corporate, this week refused the comment, saying the information was confidential.

“Kindly take note that our client’s information dealings are personal. You’re welcome to peruse the court file, but our offices must respect the privacy of all parties in matters we deal with,” Modukanele said.

Seete, who plays Gladys on Mzansi Magic’s popular drama series Gomora, is an accomplished entertainer with a multifaceted career spanning more than 20 years.

She rose to stardom as a member of the kwaito supergroup Boom Shaka in the mid-1990s.