Lolo Madonsela
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the region have shown support to 17 community members who were arrested last week for land invasion near Mpofini.
The suspects appeared before the magistrate in the Vryheid Court on Monday, where they were granted R500 bail each, after being refused bail last week Saturday.
EFF regional chairperson Thulani Ndlovu said the organisation was at the court to rally behind those community members to be released from jail.
“The people invaded the land near Mpofini and they were arrested, but they could not be granted bail, so we are here to show our support and to call for their release,” said Ndlovu.
This was not the first land invasion, as one took place last month, and AbaQulusi Local Municipality went to court to apply for a court interdict (which was granted) prohibiting any land invasion and stating that anyone found to be invading municipal land will be arrested.
Ndlovu said that the community did not know of the court interdict and said the municipality did not take the necessary measures to ensure that people were alerted of the interdict.
“People say they were never informed of that court interdict. Even though the interdict was advertised in the newspaper both in English and isiZulu, a lot of people do not have money to buy a newspaper. So why didn’t the municipality make use of the community radio station to alert the people and also make use of loudhailers? The municipality needed to talk to the community in a proper manner, because having a court interdict is an indication that the municipality is fighting the people,” said Ndlovu.
Also read: Court interdict on illegal land grabs
He further stated that, “The EFF supports land invasion where people are living in crowded communities while there is land sitting fallow and not being utilised. The houses they live in were built a long time ago and they are only four-roomed. Some families are huge and therefore it becomes a challenge, as they cannot all fit in those four-roomed houses. It is government’s responsibility to house those people when there is land that is not being utilised. The land should be given to the people so they can build for themselves if government is failing to build RDP houses for the community. People are overcrowded in that Ghetto Township in Bhekuzulu. When RDPs have been built, it is the outsiders who benefit, not the locals.
“In the R300 and Section D areas, people still do not have proper houses. If indeed the government is building houses for the people, then why do we still have such areas? What is expected of our people when there is land not being utilised? Government must come forward and say what they are going to do with the land in Vryheid; they must give a plan on what they are keeping the land for,” added Ndlovu.
The gathering outside court was later joined by IFP members, and some of the people accused the IFP that it was insisting that the 17 community members should remain behind bars.
IFP regional spokesperson Khehla Mkhwanazi said that they, as the IFP, had no right to dictate on what should happen to the accused.
“As the IFP, we are saying ‘let the law take its course’. We are not saying people should be arrested. The matter is not an IFP matter, but a Council matter, as it was the Council that acquired a court interdict to stop land invasions. We are expecting the law to take its course,” he said.
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