The KZN High Court (Durban) has ordered that five properties tied to reality television star Shauwn Mkhize be sold, granting SARS its urgent application to dispose of the crumbling Sandown estates before their value erodes further.

Judge Jacqueline Henriques authorised the court-appointed curator to sell the five properties, which are the subject of a preservation order granted in November 2024, and ordered that the full proceeds be held in an interest-bearing trust account pending the outcome of an action SARS must institute within a month to declare the properties executable, reports News24.

The properties, four registered under Yaron Peretz and one under 22 Aston Investment (Pty) Ltd, have a combined municipal value of R22.8m and a market value of R35m.

Their forced-sale value is R24.5m.

Although they are separate properties with two registered owners, they effectively form a single palatial compound.

Mkhize is personally indebted to SARS for R13.3m in income tax and has been held personally liable for the R112.5m tax debt of Zikhulise Group (Pty) Ltd.

SARS has already recovered R6.1m from the auction of her movable assets, including vehicles and luxury bags.

Henriques dismissed every objection raised by Mkhize’s legal team, finding they had raised only preliminary legal objections and failed to challenge any of the factual allegations in SARS’ founding affidavit.

‘Paying tax is not a punishment, it is a responsibility,’ the judge said at the outset of her judgment, handed down on Monday.

She accepted that the properties were deteriorating, with the valuer confirming damp damage and a lack of general maintenance.

Four of the five properties had improvements built without approved building plans, prompting a contravention notice from the City of Johannesburg.

The judge found urgency was satisfied, rejecting arguments that SARS had delayed or manufactured the urgency itself. She noted that many of the expenses, including the valuation report, arrear municipal charges and the need for security guards and insurance, only arose after the preservation order was granted, according to News24.

SARS was spending R188 261.90 a month on security, R97 922.30 every six months on insurance, and faced outstanding municipal charges of R1.79m.

The judge accepted that these costs were eroding the properties’ value.

Mkhize’s son, Andile Mpisane, claimed he used two of the properties as his primary residence. The judge rejected this, noting that every affidavit he deposed listed his address as a La Lucia property, and that he and his family had alternative accommodation there.

As for Mkhize herself, the judge found she would not be left destitute, as she had at least seven other properties she could occupy.

The judge also rejected arguments that selling the properties would be premature pending a trial into ownership, finding on a balance of probabilities that SARS had established Mkhize as the beneficial owner.

The judge ordered Mkhize, Mpisane, 22 Aston Investment and 56 Adrianne Street (Pty) Ltd to pay the costs of the application, jointly and severally, including the costs of two counsel.

Full News24 report