Court battle over piece of land
The case was finalized in 2010 favouring the Ledwaba Traditional Council
POLOKWANE – A cold war has erupted between the Ledwaba Traditional Council and the Matladi a Ga-Maja over the Makotse portion of land situated within the Rooibokvlakte farm in Lebowakgomo.
Spokesperson for the Ledwaba Traditional Council, Frans Letwaba, said they became aware of the illegal selling of the land in 2008 by a group calling itself the Makotse Traditional Authority and took the matter to court.
The case was finalized in 2010 favouring the Ledwaba Traditional Council.
“What worries us is that they continue to allocate business and residential sites to people. They now operate under a new name, Matladi a Ga-Maja, and sell stands at an amount of R3 500 each. They have already sold about 2 000 sites.”
The Rooibokvlakte farm belongs to a Chief Rangoato Ledwaba, and the Thabamoopo Magistrate’s Court issued a court order in February 2014 to stop them from selling sites, he said.
“They know that the court ordered them to stop selling sites and using a rubber stamp depicting the owner of the land. They were also stopped from calling the meetings at Makotse Village under the pretext that the first respondent is the headman of Makotse Village.
“They were also stopped from disturbing the day to day running of the business of the chief,” he said.
Andries Maja of the Matladi a Ga-Maja Traditional Council said the court order was directed at an individual, not the their traditional council.
“The very same court order that Letwaba is talking about has been contested and it is still pending. It is no longer binding. We are still waiting for the date,” said Maja.
