Members of the SAPS at Ingogo informed a farmer that occupiers living on his farm and who had set his field alight could not be charged with arson, because they were actually the owners of the land.

Chris Fourie, Provincial Coordinator for AfriForum in KwaZulu-Natal, said that at around 14:45 on Sunday 8 June 2014 Mr Gerhard Botes the owner of Farm Samson in the Ingogo district outside Newcastle noticed that the occupiers living on his property had set alight his land. He called the local SAPS station in Ingogo, but when the officers arrived on Mr Botes’ property they refused to open an arson docket.

Fourie said that arson is committed when a person unlawfully and intentionally sets fire to immovable property belonging to another; or his own immovable insured property, to claim the value of property from an insurer.

“The SAPS members didn’t have the necessary information regarding the ownership of the land, but the prima facie evidence shows that Mr Botes is the legal owner of Farm Samson. The SAPS members should have open an arson docket as requested and left it for the investigating officer to determine the ownership of the property. These actions of the SAPS can set a precedent that occupiers are land owners and they can do what they want on the land”, Fourie concluded.

AfriForum requested the SAPS Station Commander at Ingogo to investigate this matter and to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to bring the arsonists to book.