Irene Grootboom’s legacy is being marred by an ugly standoff between her lover and her family.
Grootboom, known as the “housing heroine”, famously took on the government over housing delivery in the Constitutional Court.
Despite this, she died in squalor in a shack in Wallacedene informal settlement, north of Cape Town.
This week, almost two months after her death, the government finally gave her a house. But it is not her dream happy ending.
While the keys to the four-roomed house were handed to Grootboom’s 16-year-old niece, her lover Peter Roman is insisting that he deserves it — because they lived together for 16 years, making Irene his common-law wife.
“I’m very upset with what is happening. .. I supported her during the court battle and urged her to pursue it because I also thought about other people as well. Where must I stay now? On the street?” asked Roman this week. But Roman is still a married man and his wife has her own home.
Grootboom’s sister, Patricia Grootboom, vowed they would never let the “adulterous” Roman live in the new house.
She said Grootboom named her niece, Rennett Grootboom, as her sole beneficiary.
Representing about 1000 people, Grootboom approached the Constitutional Court after their shacks were bulldozed because they illegally occupied land earmarked for development.
In 2000, the court ruled that the state was obliged to provide people living in deplorable conditions with access to adequate housing. - The Times
Grootboom, known as the “housing heroine”, famously took on the government over housing delivery in the Constitutional Court.
Despite this, she died in squalor in a shack in Wallacedene informal settlement, north of Cape Town.
This week, almost two months after her death, the government finally gave her a house. But it is not her dream happy ending.
While the keys to the four-roomed house were handed to Grootboom’s 16-year-old niece, her lover Peter Roman is insisting that he deserves it — because they lived together for 16 years, making Irene his common-law wife.
“I’m very upset with what is happening. .. I supported her during the court battle and urged her to pursue it because I also thought about other people as well. Where must I stay now? On the street?” asked Roman this week. But Roman is still a married man and his wife has her own home.
Grootboom’s sister, Patricia Grootboom, vowed they would never let the “adulterous” Roman live in the new house.
She said Grootboom named her niece, Rennett Grootboom, as her sole beneficiary.
Representing about 1000 people, Grootboom approached the Constitutional Court after their shacks were bulldozed because they illegally occupied land earmarked for development.
In 2000, the court ruled that the state was obliged to provide people living in deplorable conditions with access to adequate housing. - The Times
No comments:
Post a Comment