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LANDLORD ATTACKS TENANT WITH SHOVEL OVER RENT

By PHUMELELE MTSETFWA | 2023-11-30

Instead of allowing a tenant to leave, a landlord admitted to indulging in alcohol and assaulting him with a shovel over unpaid rent.

The landlord also admitted to fighting his tenants each time he was under the influence of alcohol. Appearing at the Mbabane National Court on a charge of assault, David Matsebula (49) who owns one-room flats at Mangwaneni confessed to have assaulted his tenant, Sabelo Dlamini (45) with a shovel all over his body after the latter informed him that he was moving out of the rented one-room flat.

Testifying against Matsebula yesterday, Dlamini said he decided to evacuate the flat which cost E300 monthly because he was no longer employed and could not afford paying the rent.

He told the court that another reason he wanted to leave was because he could no longer tolerate the landlord’s behaviour as he would sometimes wake him up around 2am demanding extra rent.
He further testified that he had earlier informed his landlord that he intended moving out of the flat, adding that he (landlord) was in a questionable state of sobriety at the time.

This, according to Dlamini, was well before the deadline of the 5th of each month to have paid rent.
On the day he was to move out, he said Matsebula attacked him with a shovel all over his body, injuring his ribcage.

Despite being in pain from the injuries sustained during the attack, he said he continued to pack his clothes in preparation to move out of the flat and thereafter went to hospital where he was admitted for two days.

Upon being discharged, he reported the matter to the police.
The nonchalant Matsebula admitted to being under the influence of alcoholic beverages when he attacked Dlamini but denied that it was over his failure to pay rent.

Matsebula told the court that he assaulted Dlamini after he insulted him, calling him ‘drunken fool’ which made him angry and could not control his emotions.
He further stated that they had their own unresolved issues with Dlamini, which was another reason they got involved in a fight.

He dismissed Dlamini’s submission that he attacked him for moving out of his flat but instead, it was also because he failed to pay rent for about two months.
“He was living in my flat for two months without paying rent and I was tired of being patient with him,’’ he submitted.

The landlord also admitted that every time he was under the influence of alcohol, he fought with his tenants.

“I once punched one of my tenants several times and police fetched me the same week and I blame myself for drinking too much alcohol,” he said.

National Court President, Prince Mgebiseni, advised Matsebula to stop drinking too much alcohol as he loses control when drunk.
Matsebula was sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option of E600 fine.

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