Malawian man accuses Nedbank of reckless lending as court rules bank can repossess Sunninghill home due R2. 6 million debt
Image: Tracey Adams/Independent Newspapers
A Malawian man who has been unable to meet his monthly bond payments has accused Nedbank of reckless lending after owing over R2.6 million on his home loan.
Bonface Tintin Ndawala, an accountant and a CEO of a mobile company in his home country, bought his home in Sunninghill, Johannesburg in October 2011.
He purchased his home with a bank loan of R2.4 million.
Initially, Ndawala was responsible for paying R27,559.62 each month, but his last payment was made in August 2021, amounting to R20,221.14. The failure to maintain payment resulted in arrears exceeding R977,000.
In court, Ndawala represented himself after his attorney withdrew a few hours before the hearing. He told the court that he holds 5,400 shares valued at R1,000 each in Midveldt Investments (Pty) Ltd, which he claimed could be sold to alleviate his financial burden.
However, Nedbank said Ndawala failed to attach an evaluation certificate from an actuary or other accountant to confirm the value of those shares.
This argument was accepted by Acting Judge JL Bhengu who said given the fact that Ndawala's indebtedness spans from 2021, he should have at least taken steps to sell his shares to cover his debts, if indeed the shares are worth that much.
"It is unreasonable for Mr Ndawala to expect the creditor to undertake the exercise of verifying the existence of the shares when he cannot do it himself, despite such information falling within his personal knowledge," said the judge.
Moreover, Ndawala explained that as a CEO, he was in the process of finalising an agreement with a potential investor where he could raise over R200 million and this would have allowed him to pay the arrears in one go.
He complained that because he was not legally represented, he was unable to bring proof of the contract and license of the business that he was referring to.
Dissatisfied with his explanation, the judge said Ndawala's complaints had no merit because he was always legally represented throughout the proceedings up until a few hours before the hearing.
His other defence was that the bank's interest charges were exorbitant, and the bank failed to assess his financial position at the time of granting the loan, amounting to reckless lending.
This argument was also thwarted by the judge due to the fact that at the time he applied for the bond, he was employed by Cell C and earned over R200,000.
"There is no explanation from Mr Ndawala why he agreed to these terms of the loan, only to challenge them almost 13 years later when he is having financial difficulties. It is trite that contracting parties cannot escape the enforcement of contractual terms on the basis that enforcement would be disproportionate or unfair in the circumstances," said the judge.
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Upon reviewing the evidence, the court considered the fact Ndawala owned a home loan exceeding R2.6 million and was in arrears of over R977,000, with the amount still increasing. With these facts, the judge deemed it appropriate to declare the property to be repossessed by the bank.
"I am of the view that foreclosure will also assist Mr Ndawala to alleviate the escalating indebtedness not only on the home loan but also towards other creditors like the municipality and the homeowner's association."
In May 2023, a property evaluator valued the property at R2.8 million, whereas the municipality valued it at R2.6 million. Conversely, the bank suggested a sale price of R2.2 million, which the judge deemed fair, taking into account the outstanding amounts owed to the municipality and the Homeowners Association.
However, Ndawala contended that the property was worth over R5 million. He said R2,2 million was too low and argued that R4 million was more reasonable.
Ndawala's argument was dismissed because his finding was not supported by a property evaluator. In contrast, the bank relied on independent evaluators to support their position.
Despite ruling in favour of the bank, the judge suspended the order for six months to give Ndawala enough time to finalise the deal which he claimed would settle all his debts at one go.
"I decided to grant him the benefit of the doubt by suspending the operation of the order for six months in order to give him a fair chance to bring his arrears up to date," read the judgment.
The judgment was made in June 2024, and the reasons were not written.
In July 2025, Nedbank approached the judge to request written reasons that informed the ruling. The reason for this request was because Ndawala had submitted an application for leave to appeal the judgment.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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