Hilltop farmer battles against alleged land invaders in court
A Hilltop farmer alleged in some court papers that his and his family members' lives had been threatened by several alleged unlawful land invaders.
A farmer hopes to have a final order granted soon against alleged illegal invaders building on his farm in the Hilltop area.
Eric van der Merwe was recently granted an interim interdict by the Nelspruit Regional Court to bar a group of people from illegally building in, living on and damaging his land, Hilltop Farm.
The order ruled that the group, which has allegedly been erecting illegal structures on the land, may not threaten or intimidate Van der Merwe, his family or his employees. The order also prevents the alleged invaders from building on one of Van der Merwe’s neighbours’ property, called Farm Weltevreden on the interdict, which is owned by Lusundvu Pty (Ltd).
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The interim interdict was granted on December 5 against several respondents, including the alleged unlawful invaders, Timothy Shabangu, Humphrey Nkosi and Sandile Dlamini.
Van der Merwe’s application to the court for the interdict to be granted stated that the alleged illegal invasion first started on September 8 last year when a group of people began fencing off certain portions belonging to Van der Merwe and Lusundvu.
Van der Merwe alleged that since them, the road from Hilltop Farm leading to Farm Weltevreden was barricaded either with vehicles belonging to the alleged invaders and/or rolls of fencing.
He alleged that since the end of September 2022, it has become a regular occurance for the alleged invaders to park outside his property and intimidate him and his family, allegedly threatening to kill them. The application alleged that a member of the so-called invaders also pointed a gun at the head of one of Van der Merwe’s employees on October 22.
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The application stated that Van der Merwe had opened cases at the Nelspruit Police Station regarding the alleged illegal building and the alleged death threats.
Nelspruit Regional Court Magistrate RR Cloete ordered on December 5 that the respondents in the matter must show cause before the court on February 8 this year as to why a final order should not be granted.
A legal representative from Du Toit-Smuts Attorneys, Joshua Bassingthwaighte, who had helped handle Van der Merwe’s application, said the interim interdict was extended and the matter was postponed to May 10.
The interim interdict ordered that full possession of the land be returned and/or restored to Van der Merwe and Lusundvu and that the first to fourth respondents (Shabangu, Nkosi, Dlamini and the alleged unlawful invaders) are interdicted and restrained from restricting, obstructing, preventing and taking any steps to interfere with the family, employees and visitors of Van der Merwe and Lusundvu, as well as the landowners themselves.
The interdict also prevents the erection of any structures or houses on the two properties.
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Advocate MG Mamba, Shabangu’s legal representative, said his client did not wish to deal with the matter in the media and, therefore, responding affidavits to Van der Merwe’s application were not provided.
He said he is the litigant advocate in the matter and receives instructions from some attorneys of MM Labe Attorneys.
