[imagesource: Thomas Buchar]

Sparks are flying faster than a Jozi taxi at a Lowveld estate between American big shot and tech exec Thomas Buchar and his landlord, Nick Spencer, who are at each other’s throats over a spicy eviction saga.

Buchar reckons he was right to withhold up to R100,000 in unpaid rent since Spencer apparently left him in the dark, literally, as he refused to tend to electrical issues that nearly burnt the place down.

News24 reports that the landlord had failed to fix serious electrical issues that left Buchar without power and caused the distribution board on the rental property at Zandspruit Bush and Aero Estate in Limpopo to catch fire.

Now, this “power struggle” has upped the ante with alleged death threats from the landlord and a bit of a smash-and-grab involving Buchar’s R1.6 million worth of personal goodies. Not only were he and his partner Beth Kender kept out of the house (and out of their own closets, nogal), but when the sheriff finally pitched up to help, the landlord and his girlfriend wasted no time chirping about Buchar’s rather, ahem, personal belongings—sex toys and all. Sounds like they’re in for a lekker long legal battle.

Buchar, from Chicago, rented the house under his NPO, the Nembeza Wildlife Foundation, in May 2023. He works remotely from the property, owned by the Pilot Trust, for which he pays R46,200 per month. He specialises in developing advanced financial technology solutions for and with multinational corporations, which in the past has included Bloomberg and the London Stock Exchange.

From day one, Buchar claims, the luxury rental was more ‘bush’ than ‘aero’ when it came to electricity. Apparently, the power situation was so dodgy that three months in, the distribution board practically self-combusted. Spencer’s answer? Send in what Buchar described as “unlicensed maintenance workers” to try their luck.

By August 2024, with sparks still flying and the lights flickering like a load-shedding schedule, Buchar and his partner Kender had finally had enough. After a quick chat with their lawyer, they decided to hold back on the rent as a bit of encouragement for Spencer to finally sort out the mess.

This seemed to have worked, as later that month a licenced electrician assessed the situation.

According to the electrician’s report, which News24 has seen, there was severe corrosion damage to the circuit breaker cradles and some of the switchgear, believed to have been caused by moisture or water that had come in through the wall or conduits from the concrete roof to the distribution board.

According to the report, the source of the leak would have to be attended to, and the internal distribution board equipment replaced and rewired.

The work was quoted at R17,797.75.

By early September, things were turning ugly again. Buchar says he and Spencer had a “friendly chat” about the R92,400 in unpaid rent—one that quickly went south. Just two days later, Spencer allegedly helped himself to an unauthorised visit.

According to Buchar, this pop-in wasn’t exactly cordial; Spencer allegedly threatened to kill both him and Beth if they didn’t cough up the rent. A shouting match ensued, nearly escalating to fists before Spencer finally stormed out.

After the showdown, the couple decided they’d had their fill of the drama and expected Spencer to give them the standard 30 days’ notice to move out. Turns out, their landlord had other plans. Meanwhile, although a licenced electrician replaced the distribution board later that month, the electrical issues persisted.

On 25 September, Buchar got a letter from the landlord’s lawyer, Loris Rech, cancelling the lease and demanding Buchar pack his bags immediately for failing to pay rent, municipal bills, and utilities. It also accused him of some more creative breaches—like not building a fence for their dogs, feeding the estate’s wildlife, and even tampering with the local flora and fauna.

But it didn’t stop there. The letter also laid the blame squarely on Buchar for anything electrical on the property, including the switches and sockets.

Buchar and Kender had decided to avoid another showdown, so on 27 September, they went for lunch, giving Spencer, Rech, and their estate agent the green light to inspect the dodgy wiring. But instead of a routine check, they were left gobsmacked when they watched, via livestream, as their personal items—including their medication and passports—were carted off through a back entrance. Looks like the “inspection” was more of a full-blown heist.

The pair rushed to the estate, but Buchar said their access was denied after it was “legally revoked” following a meeting with a board member of the homeowners association, Spencer and Rech.

“They legally needed to give 30-day notice,” Buchar pointed out, claiming there was nothing in the lease stating they were responsible for the electricity. It was “bullshit” he had to erect the fence, he charged, and said Spencer and the others “don’t know anything about our interaction with the wildlife”.

According to legal letters flying between the two parties, Buchar’s stuff would be handed back once he cleared the rent arrears and utility bills, while his R46,000 deposit would be held back for “damages” still to be decided.

Buchar, however, wasn’t having it: “They had over $100,000 worth of our belongings. Why would I pay them?” he snapped, making it clear he wasn’t about to foot the bill for a mess he didn’t create.

Buchar approached the Lenyenye Magistrate’s Court, which on 1 October issued a spoliation order for the immediate return of their belongings and their return to the house.

“The court order didn’t say ‘Pay Nick Spencer’. [It] said for Nick Spencer to get out of the house and return our possessions,” Buchar told News24.

By the end of the month, Buchar said the only things returned to him were a handful of clothes, his passport, a computer, a busted monitor, a TV, and a bunch of random bits and bobs. Not exactly the R1.6 million worth of stuff he owns.

Buchar said all Kender’s possessions, from medical records and birth certificates to her jewellery, were still missing. In addition, he claimed their furniture, companies’ corporate documents, credit cards, bank records, external drives, and computers containing proprietary code and trade secrets in excess of $10 million were unaccounted for.

“As of today, we are still R1.6 million out of pocket for personal items, over $2 million in lost business and millions of US dollars in source codes and trade secrets missing.”

Buchar joked his adult toys have also not been returned to him yet.

“Spencer and [his girlfriend] seem very preoccupied with possessing our intimacy items, as if that was some great victory,” he said.

“You couldn’t demonstrate more daftness unless you were an asexual contestant on Love Island. We are more concerned about our family heirlooms and archives than we are about what [they] might have found in a box under the bed.”

After their eviction, Buchar and Kender spent the week at various bed and breakfasts. They are now renting another property in Hoedspruit.

[source:news24]