Daily Sun (August 6 2015) - TIMOTHY LIVES in a squatter camp and he sleeps under plastic on the hard ground.
But one day, he may live like a king.
UNTIL THEN HIS KASI FRIENDS CALL HIM THE SQUATTER CAMP MILLIONAIRE.
“I should have all this money but I live with them and drink takunyisa instead of expensive whisky,” said Timothy Mkhabela, who lives at the side of the road in Sundra, Delmas, Mpumalanga.
Life is hard for Timothy, who was injured when he was run over by a car in 2010. He stayed in hospital for over six months and doctors had to amputate his right leg above the knee.
After he was discharged, a Good Samaritan, Tinny Simelane took him in and since then he has been doing everything he can to help Timothy get his money. “We used Manie Bothma, a lawyer from Brakpan, but after the Road Accident Fund paid out the money, the lawyer no longer wanted anyone else to come with Timothy to his office,” claimed Tinny. “He would not let him have an interpreter as before.”
Tinny said Timothy is from Swaziland and can hardly speak English or Afrikaans. Timothy told Daily Sun the lawyer made him sign some papers, even though he didn’t understand what was written in them. “I don’t know how much money the fund paid out,” said Timothy. “Bothma said he can give me R3 000 a month and if I need anything I should tell him,” claimed Timothy. “I told him I needed a house so he built a shack at a squatter camp and said that was my home. “I refused to move into the shack.”
He said he no longer wants to have anything to do with the lawyer. “I want him to give me my money and take his fee. I may not be educated but I know he should not be giving me hand-outs from my own money. I should not be living like this when the government has given me money to live a comfortable life.”
After Daily Sun contacted the lawyer, Timothy and Tinny claimed they began receiving telephone calls from Bothma and his employee, known only as Bennet. “Bennet wanted to know where Timothy was so he could come and fetch him,” claimed Tinny. “Bothma called me and begged me to come and see him so that he could pay me for all the expenses I incurred on Timothy’s behalf,” Tinny alleged. “I think all he wanted was to ship him off to Swaziland, promising that his money would follow him, as long as we told Daily Sun to back off,” Tinny claimed.
A spokeswoman for the fund, Linda Rulashe, confirmed that Timothy’s claim was paid to Mkhabela’s attorney on 2 April. She said Timothy can get legal help regarding access to the money or refer the complaint to the responsible law society.
Bothma said he is bound by an attorney-client privacy clause, and can’t comment. He would also not comment on Mkhabela’s allegations.
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