WATCH: Polly-tics in Mbombela courtroom

The Citizen

4 days ago

A bitter legal battle is unfolding over the custody of an African Grey parrot being claimed by two passionate owners.
In one corner: Prominent local lawyer Obert Ntuli, who insists the bird is his beloved 'Zippy'. In the other, Crystle Pachos, equally adamant that the feathered companion is her cherished boy, 'Zazu'.
Ntuli won the latest round in the Mpumalanga High Court on July 22, when Pachos' urgent application to stop the enforcement of a March 2025 court order to hand over the parrot was dismissed due to lack of urgency.
The conflict began on February 21, 2020, when Steiltes resident Pachos reported her bird missing. She launched a relentless social media campaign to recover Zazu, offering a R1 000 reward, and posting almost daily pleas for assistance.
Her search even involved an animal communicator and well-known tracker, Jaco Klopper, the owner of South African Bush Warrior Association, who confirmed his involvement to Lowvelder – but it was all in vain.
She described Zazu as a ''playful bird with mood swings', emphasising their bond. 'Zazu will always stay my birdie boy. No matter what happens, he will always have a piece of my heart with him.'
Hope was fading, but 14 months later, a breakthrough came. On May 10, 2021, a woman from Valencia in Mbombela contacted Pachos, claiming her father had received an African grey from a friend.
After checking missing pet listings on local Facebook groups, she believed it might be Zazu. Pachos visited on May 12, and, according to an affidavit from the woman, which was later used in court, the bird 'showed immediate affection' toward her.
A reunion video was shared online and an article published in Lowvelder celebrated Zazu's return.
ALSO READ: Zazu back home after more than a year
Pachos also located Garth Richardson, who had briefly possessed the bird.
In a sworn statement from Richardson, he claims to have found the parrot in his garden around May 5, 2021, and attempted to locate the rightful owner.
On May 13, Pachos took Zazu to the vet to be microchipped. The same day, Ntuli's daughter posted that one of their African greys had gone missing two days prior.
The bird, she said, had a foot band and was known to greet Ntuli in their home language. Her post featured videos of three African greys living with the family's toy pom dogs.
Soon, Pachos and Obert Ntuli started engaging in a tense WhatsApp exchange, each adamant the parrot was theirs.
'We are crying a river of tears,' Ntuli wrote. Pachos responded: 'It's not your bird. I hope you find yours.' With both living in the same area of Steiltes, the feud intensified.
Their arguments grew increasingly hostile, with threats and insults flying back and forth. By early 2023, their communication cooled down, until Ntuli announced on March 2 that it was time to go to court.
Court processes start
Ntuli first turned to the Small Claims Court in July 2023, but the case was deemed too complex for the court's jurisdiction.
On July 23, the bird was taken to Van Wijk Street Veterinary Hospital for a behavioural assessment by Dr Donnie Engelbrecht to determine its reaction to both parties.
According to a report from Engelbrecht, the bird reportedly responded poorly to Ntuli, retreating and becoming defensive. With Pachos, it 'displayed enthusiastic greeting behaviour', including somersaults and showed strong willingness to interact with her. However, Engelbrecht concluded that interaction alone could not determine ownership.
'Bias and time lapsed skew behavioural observation,' he noted. In October 2024, the case was heard in the Mbombela District Court. Pachos' late filing meant it was heard unopposed. More controversy followed. Evidence presented by Ntuli showed Pachos had misrepresented the date the bird was microchipped.
A vet's affidavit confirmed the microchipping took place in 2021, not 2019 as she had claimed. Further confusion concerned the bird's leg ring.
Ntuli claimed the number on the bird's ring had been filed off. The vet said their records did not reflect whether the bird had a band, as recording the details of leg bands wasn't standard practice unless explicitly requested by the owner.
Pachos admitted to falsifying the microchip date, stating in an affidavit that continuous harassment led her to make 'an irrational error in judgment to create proof of ownership'.
She apologised to both Ntuli and the vet, stating: 'My dreadful conduct does not detract from the fact that Zazu affectionately responds to me and not to Ntuli.'
She denied tampering with the leg ring and submitted evidence from the bird's breeder, Martin Belo, who confirmed he sold Zazu to her in 2019 and that the ring matched his identification style.
In March 2025, judgment was delivered in Ntuli's favour and the court ordered that the bird be returned to him. Importantly, the court clarified it was not tasked with establishing true ownership, as this was beyond its jurisdiction.
On March 10, Pachos filed a notice of appeal, arguing that the court erred by not addressing ownership more directly.
She contended the case should have been treated as rei vindicatio (a property ownership claim), where the rightful owner, the existence of the property, and unlawful possession by the other party are central.
Ntuli has since filed a cross-appeal and a court date has been set for October 2025.
An urgent application on July 22, 2025, in the Mpumalanga High Court to halt the return of the bird was not successful as urgency could not be established – and on July 25, Pachos had to hand Zazu over to Ntuli.
'I'm delighted to have Zippy back,' Ntuli told Lowvelder, proudly showing the bird in an open enclosure with two other African greys and several toy pom dogs. 'If it wasn't my bird, I wouldn't have taken it. Look how happy he is.'
He added that all his parrots came from Montana Nursery. Pachos, however, remains heartbroken. 'I cannot accept the loss of Zazu,' she said. Her next legal step remains undetermined.
The conclusion of Engelbrecht's report stands out: 'The only constructive recommendation would be to ultimately determine the best candidate for the bird's welfare.'