Crusher dust dispute heats up in Matala court

A bizarre case unfolded this week in the Matala Local Court as Tau Monethi, 72, accused Lithako Ntsebeng, 65, of discarding his valuable crusher dust in a donga. 

Monethi of Ha-Nelese is seeking M5000 in damages, claiming Ntsebeng’s actions cost him significant losses in his brick-making business.

He pleaded with Court President Mathuntsi Ntsala on Tuesday to help him recover his losses.

Ntsebeng, however, vehemently denied the accusations, stating he knew nothing about Monethi’s crusher dust and therefore would not pay any money.

Monethi testified that on May 3, 2024, he purchased two tonnes of crusher dust and transported it to his site at Ha-Nelese, where he uses it for manufacturing bricks.

He said the crusher dust remained at the site until May 30, 2024.

On that day, Monethi returned to his site with two men, Khokhothi and Thabiso, the court heard.

Upon their arrival, they allegedly found Ntsebeng actively disposing of the crusher dust with a spade in a nearby donga. Monethi claimed that when they confronted Ntsebeng, he fled the scene and stood by a nearby shop.

Monethi further explained that they had previously placed wire poles at the site. After seeing Ntsebeng there again, they re-secured the site and left. When they returned later, they found the wire poles removed.

Monethi stated they heard Ntsebeng shouting that his chief had removed the poles. Despite this, they reinstalled the poles and departed again. The following Sunday, Monethi returned to the site to find that Ntsebeng had completed disposing of all the crusher dust.

As evidence, Monethi presented a receipt, marked as Exhibit A, showing the crusher dust cost M552. He also stated that the transport cost to bring the crusher dust to Ha-Nelese was M550. Monethi calculated his total loss at M5000, explaining that the crusher dust was intended to produce 300 bricks, with 100 bricks costing M1300, making the total value of the bricks M3900.

He argued that Ntsebeng’s actions directly led to him losing this potential income, plus the cost of the material and transport.

Khokhothi Sebolai, 44, a worker at Monethi’s site, was called as a witness to corroborate his statement.

Sebolai confirmed that Monethi had purchased the crusher dust for brick manufacturing.

He added that when they arrived at the site to work, they indeed found Ntsebeng disposing of the crusher dust in the donga, and he left when they approached him.

On his part, Ntsebeng maintained that he knew nothing about Monethi’s crusher dust and had never discussed it with him, nor had Monethi asked him to look after his property.

Ntsebeng even suggested that the court visits the site to confirm that the crusher dust was still there, asserting that Monethi’s accusations were an attempt to frame him.

The court postponed the case after Ntsebeng requested to bring a witness to justify his statement.

The case is now scheduled to resume on August 7, 2025.