AfriForum has delivered letters to police stations across Pretoria, including Wierdabrug in Centurion, to “remind” the police how to react to land grabs.
The organisation said land grabs had increased significantly since the beginning of 2019, with about 45 cases in Gauteng, five in Limpopo and nine in Mpumalanga.
“These letters were delivered together with the directive that the national commissioner had sent to all police stations earlier this year,” said Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum Pretoria co-ordinator.
Grobbelaar said the letters formed part of an AfriForum initiative to visit as many police stations in Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga as possible to hand out guides that clearly explained the process the police should follow in the event of land grabs.
Letters were delivered to the following police stations: Akasia, Boschkop, Bronkhorstspruit, Brooklyn, Cullinan, Ekangala, Erasmia, Garsfontein, Hammanskraal, Hercules, Lyttelton, Moot, Pretoria Central, Pretoria North, Pretoria West, Silverton, Sinoville, Sunnyside, Villieria and Wierdabrug.
“It seems that police often refuse to comply with their constitutional duties and responsibilities – especially regarding land grabs,” Grobbelaar said.
“This results in owners of land on which landgrabs occur having to dig deep into their own pockets to approach the court and halt the land grab.”
He said, despite the directive and national instruction on reacting to land grabs police management reaching all police stations, some still did not comply.
“AfriForum has to step in regularly and apply pressure on a national level to force police into action. We will continue to act as civil watchdog and pressurise government into fulfilling its constitutional duties.
“We will act decisively against police stations that do not discharge their duties.”
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