Video
NATIONAL NEWS AND VIDEO - Mbombela resident Crystle Pachos’ heart is full – her beloved African grey is home for Christmas and happily doing somersaults on his new play gym.
And best of all, after a custody battle between Pachos and fellow Mbombela resident Obert Ntuli that lasted more than four years and led to court proceedings, the two have put their differences behind them and wished each other well.
Pachos had been forced by a court order to return the bird to Ntuli in July and had mourned his absence every day since.
On Monday, however, despite the grey clouds that had blanketed Mbombela for the past weeks, the sun came out for her when her legal representative, André du Plessis, called to say that they had won the appeal that was heard on October 24 by Deputy Judge President Vincent Ratshibvumo and Acting Judge Nicole Mayet. Zazu was finally being returned to her care!
Last night, Zazu was back home, and Pachos was battling to take in that she and her feathered soulmate had been reunited.
“This morning, I woke up half expecting it to be a dream. But when I rushed to see Zazu, there he was – back to his cheerful self.”
Pachos explains that Ntuli phoned Du Plessis at around 17:00 yesterday to say that she could come pick up Zazu.
Du Plessis says the pair, who both live in Steiltes, chatted for a bit, apologised to each other for any past hurt, and even hugged. Both parties agreed to pay their own legal costs and move on.
“If I see him in town, I will be able to greet him. There are no hard feelings,” says Pachos.
When contacted for comment, Ntuli confirmed Pachos’ sentiments but added: “What she did not tell you, however, is that we will be going out for coffee – and she will be paying. And I like expensive coffee.”
“That is the beauty of this story – it has a happy ending all round,” says Pachos.
Watch here:
The backstory
The dispute began in February 2020 when Pachos’ African grey parrot, Zazu, went missing. More than a year later, in May 2021, a woman contacted her, believing her father had the missing bird. When Pachos visited, Zazu reacted warmly to her, and she joyfully announced their reunion online.
Shortly afterwards, Ntuli’s family claimed the same bird as theirs, and a tense back-and-forth began.
Attempts to resolve the dispute informally failed, and in 2023, Ntuli approached the courts. The Small Claims Court dismissed the case as too complex, and it moved to the magistrate’s court, which heard the matter unopposed in October 2024.
In March 2025, the magistrate ruled that Zazu had to be handed to Ntuli, although the court expressly stated it could not determine true ownership.
Pachos filed a notice of appeal on March 10 and later launched an urgent high court application to prevent the handover, but the application was dismissed. She was forced to surrender Zazu in July, while the ownership question proceeded to the Mpumalanga High Court’s civil appeals division. Judges heard arguments in July and reserved judgment.
On Monday, the court delivered its judgment, upholding Pachos’ appeal and setting aside the magistrate’s order.
The court found that the magistrate had erred in two key areas: First, that a claim of rei vindicatio (reclaiming property by an owner) should be pursued through action proceedings, not the motion proceedings used by Ntuli; and second, that an order for the bird’s return could not be granted because determining true ownership is essential to the rei vindicatio remedy.
The high court dismissed the original application with costs, returning Zazu to Pachos’ care.
Zazu will spend this Christmas at home. Photos: Stefan de Villiers.
Heartwarming scenes
The heart of this story is not about court proceedings, however, but the capacity people have to love their pets, and of people to forgive and forget.
“I missed you. Mommy missed you so. Zazu… mommy’s bird,” Pachos can be seen crooning in Afrikaans on video footage.
“My bird is back and ‘happy like a chappy’.”
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
