Dream turns to dust

NO TITLE DEED, NO HOME: LEGAL WRANGLE LEAVES FAMILY IN LIMBO

- Masoka Dube

Benoni man's dream of building a house for his mother and his children has been shattered after lawyers allegedly defrauded him of more than R400 000.

Luka Khumalo from Wattville in Benoni, Ekurhuleni, claims that early last year he bought a stand for R150 000 in Villa Liza, Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.

The transaction was facilitated by his then-lawyer but after buying the land, they failed to give him a title deed.

He became suspicious and demanded his money back, but the lawyer and the property developer allegedly refused.

"After trying in vain to get my money back, I approached C Kgope Attorneys last October to assist me to buy another property in Benoni," he said.

"I paid R300 000 to their trust account. Little did I know that they would also fail me. They showed me a piece of land with an unfinished structure and they wanted R350 000 for it.