Estate dispute turns volatile as court restrains ex-Optimum manager

Court records detail conflicting accounts

- By Setumo Stone

The Mpumalanga High Court has granted an interim interdict against former Optimum Coal Mine general manager George Peter van der Merwe in an estate dispute that allegedly escalated to death threats.

The order restricts Van der Merwe from contacting or approaching his neighbours, Gerhard and Martina Kolesky, who alleged he subjected them to death threats and intimidation during a confrontation in January. The substantive application for a final interdict will be argued before the court on October 27.

The matter was heard on an urgent basis on Wednesday, following the filing of an application by the Koleskys on Tuesday.

In a founding affidavit, Gerhard Kolesky described an incident last Sunday evening, while he and his wife were walking in the Waterfront Estate.

He stated that Van der Merwe, who was accompanied by private security guards, approached them aggressively.

“He stated that ‘my family will be wiped from the earth’,” Kolesky declared under oath.