The View from my Bicycle [COLUMN]

Lies and deceit

Well, an unusually candid post this week. I've been astounded by the level of dishonesty I've been exposed to by people right around me. It's not just dishonest - the sheer maliciousness is incredible.

I guess the ball got rolling when my landlady, Serena Lee, couldn't pay off her mortgage, moved out of her home, rented out her home, and started squatting in her sauna room. She then contrived to get me out of my accomodations in her house [I was renting a loft, above her garage, a large room for R3900 pm]. See, I didn't sign a lease agreement with her, so the only way to get rid of me was by making life as miserable as possible.

Now anyone renting with their landlord squatting around them is going to get upset at some stage. I mean, hanging their washing in your area, cooking in the garage etc. Little did I know that I would quickly be snared into a variety of traps and contrivances. The result? The landlady calls the police and accuses me of damaging her property, and intimidation. They don't do anything, but later on she goes back to the station and opens a docket. The next day I am in jail. When I go to court the prosecutor throws the case out for lack of evidence and no witnesses.

I do move out, since my girlfriend is living with me, and the landlady fails to repay a deposit of R3500. I open a civil suit (at a cost of R2000) to sue for the deposit and am told it will be six months before the case goes to trial. I then move into new accomodations, and what happens? My girlfriend and I break up, and she immediately says to me she will testify against me in court (I assume to coax me into staying in a relationship with her). Yes, on those initial made up charges used with the goal of securing accomodation. She also goes to my neighbours (who we both suspect of using drugs), and informs them of the intimidation charge... Now I've said to the neighbors that I don't like people coming up the driveway to make drug delivery drops - it's a security risk in the crime capital of the world, so they don't like me very much.

It occurs to them now to go to the police also and back the claim of 'intimidation'. They also tell my new landlord that I am harassing people that come to visit them. My new landlord says to me I am 'abrasive' and 'intimidating' to people. I say, "Jeepers, who has told you that? Have you experienced that firsthand from me?" No, but nevertheless, you're free to leave before your contract (fortunately I have a lease this time) is up.

So here you have malicious, evil strategems in play, where the 'law' is used, manipulated really, to cover up the original problem. In the first case it was a woman who found herself down on her luck and needing to kick out her tenant so she could take over the accomodations. In the second, you have drug addicts who also want to use the law to remove an irritation from interfering with their habit. South Africa is filled with dishonest people who know how to play games with the law, because the law doesn't really exist. You'll only find it scary when the law comes after you, not because of something you've done, because someone else has done something and needs to get away with it.