Neighbour's 'land grab' ends valley friendship

Neighbours Ingo Vennemann and Norman Dubowitz had a relationship straight out of Pleasantville, socialising in each other's homes and chatting across the boundary of their farms.

But as in the film, not all was as it seemed. Friendly greetings have allegedly been replaced by bullets and punches as a feud over land in the remote Southern Cape hamlet of De Vlugt escalated into all-out war.

In De Vlugt, situated along the Prince Alfred Pass between Uniondale and Plettenberg Bay, it is the talk of the town.

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This week, Vennemann and Dubowitz squared off in the Uniondale Magistrate's Court, which heard allegations of bloody assaults, name-calling and rude gestures during Dubowitz's application for a protection order under the Protection from Harassment Act.

The rivals made no secret of their mutual dislike as they waited for proceedings to get under way on Wednesday. Dubowitz and a group of supporters waited on one side of the main street, Vennemann and his posse on the other.

In Dubowitz's corner were his wife, Estelle, and four other neighbours: Herbert Bovey, Angie and Harold Beaumont and Thorold Doubelle. They, too, are seeking protection orders.

Dubowitz and his neighbours claim Vennemann, who chairs the 30,000ha Middle Keurbooms Conservancy in which De Vlugt falls, has verbally and in some cases physically attacked them over two decades.

They believe the downfall of restaurant and watering hole Angie's G Spot is a prime example of Vennemann using legislation to make their lives "a living hell".

Earlier this year, George Municipality obtained a court order for the demolition of the G Spot after finding that it was constructed without municipal approval, across boundaries and below the flood line of a river. The Beaumonts said Vennemann was behind the action.

"Enough people have been hurt and this is why we have turned to the court to end this," Dubowitz said.

Vennemann denied harassment, saying he had merely reported alleged transgressions. "I have nothing against any particular person and have only been motivated by doing what is good for the valley," he said.

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He was surprised to have been taken to court. "I've reported several people to the necessary authorities over environmental infringements, but I swear that I had no hand in the proceedings against Angie and Harold."

According to both sides, the valley was once a peaceful haven.

"We were civil to one another, but something changed in 2000. We were watching the Olympic Games at Vennemann's home when at some point he referred to all the land around him as his," Dubowitz said.

When Dubowitz pointed out that the land did not belong to him, Vennemann allegedly answered that it would eventually be his as he could become "very nasty".

"It was after that that we became very uneasy about him," Dubowitz told the court, adding that in 2003 Vennemann abruptly cut off their water.

Vennemann, who owns the Outeniqua Trout Lodge, said he did so not out of spite but because a deal he had made with Dubowitz's landlord, Bovey - who is also a neighbour, but on the opposite side - had been terminated.

In 2004, Venneman said, Dubowitz fired shots to scare monkeys away. Vennemann said the gunfire startled his horses and sent them running into a group of 12 children.

"It is a miracle that none of them got hurt. I phoned Dubowitz to complain and his response was 'Ag, shame'. This made me very angry and I marched over to his place."

Vennemann said that when he arrived, Dubowitz hit him on the head with a torch and he defended himself.

Dubowitz's account is different. He claims that Venneman jumped over a fence and attacked him. "He hit me in the head with a large metal torch and jumped on top of me."

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Dubowitz's wife, Estelle, said there was blood everywhere and Vennemann also kicked their puppy. "It was terrifying."

Vennemann was convicted of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and sentenced to a year behind bars. This was suspended for three years.

On the witness stand, Estelle told the court how Vennemann had harassed them in various ways, including driving past on his motorbike making "baboon faces and noises", calling her "fat" and using a slingshot to aim "metal balls" at her.

She also believed Vennemann had fired two shots at their property in February last year.

Vennemann denied all allegations. The case continues.