MBOMBELA – City of Mbombela has sent out a stern warning to residents not to buy land which is currently disputed by the Matsafeni Community Trust, the Nkosi clan and HL Halls and Sons.
HL Halls and Sons obtained a court order to demolish walls that had been built to demarcate the land by persons who had bought it from unauthorised sellers.
The demolition took place a week ago. According to a resident and onlooker who was present during the demolition, a number of people had been sold land from as little as R6 000.
Although she did not know the names of the people who sold it, it was common knowledge among community members that the land was sold to the highest bidder despite it belonging to the Trust.
“The municipality is aware of the ongoing issue of land sales in the area. It was not only one person that it was sold to, in some instances one piece of land has been sold to many people. There’s very little we can do because the land doesn’t belong to the municipality.
We appeal to people not to fall victims to this. No one should buy land from someone who does not even have a title deed for it,” said spokesperson for the municipality, Mr Joseph Ngala.
A group of people known as the Nkosi clan, who claimed ownership of the land, opposed the demolition
Speaking on behalf of the clan, Prince Mabutfo Nkosi told Mpumalanga News that some of the walls were constructed to prevent HL Halls and Sons from erecting structures that would limit access to graveyards belonging to the clan.
“We have graves that have been there since the 1960s. We have approached the court to intervene because the land belongs to us and not the Mdhlulis who initially claimed it,” said Nkosi.
Despite this claim, Ngala said he was not aware of any Nkosi chieftaincy at Mataffin and none has been recognised by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
Director at HL Halls and Sons, Mr James Aling said, “Until finality is reached by the Land Claims Commissioner, the land in question belongs to Halls, which has the right to protect it from illegal occupation, and has followed the required legal processes to do so”.
