Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung is fighting back against attempts to seize his shares in the club over R4.3m he allegedly owes creditors for a property and petrol station he bought more than a decade ago.
Motaung has been at loggerheads with Pent Up Investments since 2011, with the company accusing him of living extravagantly while neglecting his financial obligations.
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Pent Up has applied for the sequestration of his estate, describing the application as a last resort after more than a decade of attempts to recover the money.
However, in court papers filed last month at the master of the high court, Motaung says the application is “drastic” and an “abuse of the court process”.
He argues that insolvency proceedings “should not be used where an ordinary debt recovery procedure would be more appropriate, or where an alternative, less drastic remedy is available”.
“Having already obtained a court order against me, and on the applicant’s own version, there are sufficient assets within my estate to satisfy the amount outstanding … I submit that the applicant has taken a drastic step instead of first exhausting its options of exploring ordinary debt recovery,” Motaung states.
He says Pent Up is “using these proceedings to enforce its claim against me to the detriment of my status and estate. It is established that my shareholding alone in Kaizer Holdings is sufficient to satisfy the outstanding amount.
“I submit that this application is an abuse of the court process as there are other, less drastic remedies available to the applicant which it has failed to explore.”
Motuang also disputes the amount claimed by Pent Up, saying payments made after January 2024 were not taken into account.
“They have not properly recorded payments which I have made,” Motaung states in his affidavit.
He argues that the mere allegation that he owns property or holds directorships in several companies is insufficient to justify sequestration of his estate.
The liquidation application, currently before the court, could potentially place Motaung’s assets — including cars and properties — at risk. He acknowledges in his papers that his shares connected to the club have already been attached as part of the legal process.
The asset seizure bid was brought by Pent Up director Costas Couremetis, who says his relationship with Motaung began through his late son, Christopher. This led to a 2009 purchase agreement in which Motaung bought a property and petrol station for R9m.
Couremetis states that after payments under the agreement broke down, he obtained a court order in 2011, prompting the parties to enter a settlement agreement. The transaction was concluded through Motaung’s company, Lakeshore Trading, where he is the sole director and shareholder.
According to the sequestration application, Motaung allegedly made sporadic payments over more than a decade before Lakeshore Trading was ultimately placed under final liquidation. Couremetis claims that Motaung committed an act of insolvency by breaching the settlement agreement.
“Motaung makes it appear, prima facie, that he is factually insolvent. Alternatively, he must be squandering or hiding his income, as he has demonstrated time and again that he is either unable or unwilling to pay his indebtedness, even when he has undertaken to do so in writing,” the papers state.
Couremetis further alleges that despite the outstanding debt, Motaung has lived an extravagant lifestyle.
“Motaung has, over all these years, lived a very opulent lifestyle: driving a Bentley motor vehicle, owning and living in a … prestigious area — Houghton — wearing expensive clothing and watches … and generally portraying the image of a very successful businessman,” the application reads.
Couremetis claims Motaung previously told him the reason for nonpayment was that he was servicing other creditors. “If sequestrated, Motaung will no longer be able to prefer other creditors over Pent Up Investments, as he has done for some 14 years to date,” the papers state.
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In 2018, Motaung resolved a dispute with the South African Revenue Service after the revenue collector demanded R51m in outstanding taxes.
Motaung and his siblings Kaizer Motaung jnr and Jessica Motaung hold different roles at Kaizer Chiefs, maintaining the legacy of their father, Kaizer Motaung, who founded the club in 1970. He is responsible for the club’s daily operations and administration.
