Banking group Absa was granted an urgent interdict by the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday against ”snake man” Jan Abel Manamela to stop him from releasing snakes or other dangerous reptiles or animals in the bank.
Manamela was sentenced to three years imprisonment as a result of a January 2004 incident, when he released five puffadders in the reception area of Absa’s head office in Johannesburg, resulting in someone being bitten on the hand.
He was released on parole on February 28.
The snake incident was preceded by Manamela’s battle against the bank since 1998, when the bank sold his bakkie after he had allegedly fallen behind with his monthly instalments.
He subsequently claimed the bank had defrauded him, repeatedly threatened to blow up the bank, demanded payment of R10-million and eventually released what he described as his pet snakes in the bank.
On Wednesday, Judge Eben Jordaan granted an urgent court order, interdicting Manamela from contacting, harassing, intimidating, threatening or molesting the bank’s employees, customers and attorneys.
He may also not enter Absa’s head office or any branches or offices with the intention to cause harm to the bank’s employees and customers and was ordered to pay the legal costs of the urgent application.
Absa’s securities department manager, Mariette Barends, said in court papers Manamela had voluntarily surrendered his bakkie after being given numerous chances to keep up with his monthly instalments, but failing to do so. He subsequently lost an application to have the vehicle returned to him.
After his conviction, Manamela threatened to sue Absa for R35-million and told Absa’s attorney that he would ”deal” with the bank.
Before his release from prison, he allegedly phoned Absa’s media relations manager Errol Smith and aggressively demanded ”his money”.
The latest incident was in March, after Manamela was released from prison, when he personally delivered a letter to Absa’s head office in which he gave ”final notice” to pay him R38,8-million as compensation for the repossession of his car and R3,8-million for his incarceration.
This was despite his parole conditions forbidding him to leave the Odi, Garankuwa area without permission and prohibiting him from contacting Absa.
Barends said it was clear that Manamela was a ”very dissatisfied person” who had proven himself to be a dangerous man and a person who implemented his threats.
The bank believed he would stop at nothing to take revenge and believed his threats should be taken extremely seriously, she added.
A hand-written letter, in which Manamela appealed to Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe to help him with his problems with the bank, was attached to court papers.
In the letter, Manamela accused Absa of fraud and claimed the bank had given him the go-ahead to release the snakes. He said he was a good citizen and an outstanding person, whose reputation had been damaged by the bank’s false allegations and distortions. He also complained about the conduct of various attorneys who had represented him in the past.
In a letter to the registrar of the court, in which Manamela disagreed with Absa’s allegations, he said he now claimed R50-million for the ”fabricated allegations” and complained that his family had been traumatised by the ”whole fiasco”.
The letter also formed part of papers before the court. – Sapa