MBOMBELA – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has gotten on board the ongoing land dispute at Mataffin. The party leaders took the opportunity of meeting with residents to sign up new members on Sunday.
This follows the torching of a number of houses, a business and a tuck shop in the area at the end of May. The properties apparently belonged to the friends of a man believed to be selling stands illegally. They were alleged to have been set on fire by members of the community.
The land has divided the community members who reside here. At the moment, it is the property of the Matsafeni Trust with legal occupants and members of the Mdluli family as beneficiaries. Mr Richard Spoor, an attorney acting on behalf of them, explains that the two parties recently agreed to split the land, a complicated matter which will take a number of months to finalise.
Spoor points out that it is a common practice for individuals to make cash by selling off land not belonging to them. And where the legal occupants used to defend those being evicted by the Mdluli family, they have now turned on the squatters occupying their land.
On Sunday the EFF provincial leader
Mr Collen Sedibe said the party had ranged itself on the side of the so-called illegal occupants. “People are fed up. We now understand their plight.”
Mr Cyril Chuene, a member of the party’s provincial executive, said they intended to support the police investigation. “We will make sure that the perpetrators are brought to book. We will go to court to suppress the eviction.”
Provincial police spokesman, Brig Selvy Mohlala confirmed earlier that malicious damage to property and public violence were being investigated.
Chuene indicated that they would return the T-shirts of members who had joined them this weekend “back to the ANC, where they belong”.
