Residents of Marina and Cussons streets in West Acres have raised concerns over ongoing land invasion adjacent to their properties.

According to them, members of the Mataffin community have been occupying parts of Eligedleni Farm over the past two weeks. Trees have been cut down and makeshift roads cleared, with the apparent intention to build homes.

Residents believe the invasion will negatively impact property values in the area.

A community meeting was held on an open piece of land on Monday, July 8, to discuss the issue. A resident representative, who asked not to be named, said she had been in contact with Terry Mdhluli, whom she identified as one of the landowners.

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“Terry is co-operative. He has been in communication with me the whole day. I hope he arrives at this meeting, but if not, I will be seeing him on Thursday to discuss the way forward,” she said.

During the meeting, it emerged that a court order issued in 2021 prohibits anyone, including members of the Mataffin community, from occupying the land.

Residents also claimed that plots were allegedly being sold for as little as R200, although it remains unclear who is behind the sales.

The zoning status of the land also remains in question. An official from the City of Mbombela (CoM), who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a formal township had been approved, although the area had previously been designated for agricultural use.

Mdhluli eventually arrived at the meeting and confirmed that he and other stakeholders would meet with the police on Wednesday, July 10, to seek a resolution.

“This land belongs to us, the Matsafeni Trust. As you can see, people are trying to enter the space illegally,” he said.

“We already have a permanent court order preventing any invasion, because this is not the first time it has happened.”

Mdhluli said that law enforcement and the sheriff had visited the area on July 3 but were threatened by the land invaders. He assured residents that the police would take action.

“No one is going to live here without following proper procedures. Once the police remove the invaders, we will erect a fence and hire a security company to protect the land,” he said.

However, a Mataffin community member told Lowvelder that the land rightfully belongs to the community and accused criminals of using it to hide and store stolen goods. “It is within our rights to occupy the land because it has been abandoned,” he said.