Two Related Judgments

08 July 2025

Dear Member

Attached are two related judgments. The FNB v The Master judgment was handed down on 29 September 2023 by Potterill J and dealt with a review of the Master, Middelburg who had presided over the first meeting of creditors in the insolvent estate Nel. The Court found in all aspects against the Master and instructed the Master to re-convene the first meeting of creditors for the sole purpose of appointing new trustees.

In SAG Khammissa v The Master, the applicant was an initial trustee in the insolvent estate of Nel, subsequent to the Potterill judgment she was replaced by the second and third respondents. Despite her removal as trustee, the applicant has subsequently made a payment out of the funds in the insolvent estate account and is persistently refusing to account to the Master and the current trustees for the balance of the funds. The Master (first respondent) took the decision to convene a Section 152 enquiry and issued a subpoena for the applicant to attend and give evidence regarding her actions. The applicant brought this application to set aside the enquiry, the Court found that the applicant lacked the necessary locus standi to bring the application, that the application was an abuse of process and awarded punitive costs against the applicant.

Kindly sent to us by Henk Strydom of Strydom Bredenkamp Inc.

Take care,

René Bekker
Chief Operating Officer

  Judgment: FirstRand Bank v The Master & Others in re Nel. Case No. 2022/035973. Potterill J

  Judgment: SAG Khammissa v M Tselana NO & Others. Case No:2025/025127