The Alex Magistrates’ Court has granted a land and property claimant a protection order against a man operating a business next to his stand.
The claimant, Peter Malinga of 18 Avenue, said the order was to protect him from death threats and intimidation from the neighbour who allegedly also uses part of the land Malinga has claimed on behalf of his family. He said the threats arose after he informed the man of the claim and recently constructed temporary shelters on the site to ward off potential land invaders. He is one of the few still spared from illegal occupiers in the area.
Malinga also successfully stopped Telkom from operating a pay phone that had been installed on the land some years ago without his consent or knowledge of who was benefiting from the monthly management fees.
He said the order served yesterday by the Alex police was signed by the man begrudgingly. “Despite signing, he continued to spout threats that as a Zulu man from Nkandla he would harm me and also, he stopped the delivery of building material to complete my structures,” claimed Malinga.
The neighbour, who declined to state his full name, blamed the poor relationship on Malinga.
The Alex land claims process faces various challenges, with some cases where the rightful claimants had been chased away by tenants.
