The Haitian embassy in South Africa has launched an urgent application to set aside a High Court order allowing the sheriff to attach the embassy’s movable goods because of alleged outstanding rent of R550 000.
Property owner Nosisi Sokutu obtained an urgent order in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria last week authorising the sheriff to remove all movable property found at the embassy in Main Street, Waterkloof.
The sheriff and Sokutu’s attorney, Mario Coetzee could n0t, however, proceed with the attachment as embassy staff refused to let them remove any property.
Yesterday, the embassy asked the court to set aside the attachment order and grant a punitive costs order against Sokutu. It maintained the order should never have been granted because it enjoys diplomatic immunity.
Judgment will be delivered today.
Haiti’s ambassador to South Africa, Stephan d’Ennery Dejoie, said in court papers the building was the official residence of the ambassador and the application should have been transmitted through the South African foreign affairs department to Haiti’s ministry of foreign affairs.
Dejoie said there was no justification for the applicant’s statement that he would remove and hide all of the movable assets in the home simply because there was litigation pending and the suggestion that he or the embassy was dishonest was defamatory.
He said the building was a mess and in a state of disrepair when the embassy rented it and an agreement was reached with Sokutu’s late husband that the embassy could make repairs to the property and deduct the costs from the monthly rental.
He said it was, in fact, the embassy that was owed money and not the other way around, and Sokutu knew the rent would resume on August 1.
– ilsedl@citizen.co.za
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