Miner moves early on Leeu Bank farm eviction

A Mpumalanga family has accused mining giant Exxaro of evicting them while the matter is still to be heard in court.

Last month, the Sindane family, from the Leeu Bank farm near Belfast in Mpumalanga, lost the case against Exxaro, which was planning to evict them.

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Soon after the verdict was announced, the family’s lawyers approached the Judicial Service Commission and later appealed the judgment.

It is alleged that last week the mining firm sent the sheriff of the court to the Sindane family home to initiate the eviction process.

“Yes, it is true the sheriff of the court came here to start talking to us about being evicted,” said family spokesperson Ellisa Sindane. “But we have alerted our lawyers. They are working on it.”

Sindane said it was unfair that the court had ruled the family must vacate the property they had occupied for more than 60 years.

A video shared with The Citizen showed several officials from the sheriff of the court inspecting the houses, counting the livestock, while the family watched.

“Did you check on the other houses and also ask them how many cattle they have?” a man could be heard asking in the background.

The family’s legal representative, Tony Mathe from Marweshe Attorneys, confirmed the sheriff had gone to the family home, but did not divulge much about the issue.

“Yes, the plan is to evict them, but they are not being evicted yet.

“The sheriff went there to conduct some inspection. We, however, told the sheriff the matter is still being attended to so they must not start evicting them.”

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The squabble started in 2007 when the miner bought the farm and ordered the Sindanes and other families to relocate to make way for a coal mine.

Other families agreed, but the Sindane family and a few others refused, claiming the compensation the mine was offering was too little, compared to the loss they were going to endure due to the relocation.

The miner reportedly continued with their work while the families were still living there. Later, the families complained about the dust and cracking houses and confronted the mine.

Then the company approached the courts for an eviction order and the court ruled in its favour. Solly Masilela, director of Vulamehlo Kusile Foundation, has condemned Exxaro’s act of initiating an eviction process while there is an appeal on the court ruling.

“The family’s lawyers have appealed the ruling, so we were surprised to learn that, despite the appeal, Exxaro unleashed the sheriff to visit the family and attached their property, and informed them that they must phone the sheriff on the date on which they will be forcefully relocated.

“We are going to fight until the end,” said Masilela. In a previous interview, another family member,

Vusimuzi Sindane, said: “We are surrounded by the mine’s operations which are affecting our lives daily.

“Huge vehicles from the mine are passing near our houses.” Exxaro corporate affairs manager Nomonde Ndwalaza has not responded to inquiries sent to her via e-mail.