Illegal occupants will fight
“The law is on our side and we will not vacate this land.”
KINROSS – Hundreds of illegal occupants and Sanco members sang and danced when Mr Sol Vilakazi, regional deputy chairman of Sanco, addressed them and said they will go to court on 31 October to fight for their rights.
He said a court order which they obtained, instructs the Govan Mbeki Municipality to reserve an eviction order because it apparently did not follow the right procedures.
“The law is on our side and we will not vacate this land.
“The municipality must do the right thing.
“They rush to the media and give false statements and this order proves their lies.”
Mr Henry Masango, head of communication and marketing of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, said the municipality followed the right and constitutional procedures regarding the eviction.
“There has been an illegal occupation of land in May on the farm Zondagskraal no. 124 and 125 respectively (known as Kinross Ext. 21 and 25), that is currently zoned as agricultural land.
“The municipality approached the courts on an urgency basis to secure an eviction order, but due to the request for further documentation, the matter has been dragging ever since.
“Then these illegal land occupation activities were spreading like wildfire throughout the municipal area.
“The municipality was then forced to again approach the courts with an intention of stamping out this practice once and for all.
“Our prayers were answered on 23 September by Justice Jordaan who ruled that all illegal occupiers of land in the municipal area must peacefully vacate before 31 October, or be forcefully removed by the Sherriff.
“This includes Kinross Extension 21 and 25.”
About the court order that Sanco and the occupants obtained, Mr Masango said the court order of 26 September issued by acting Justice Modiba to reserve an eviction notice on all existing complete and incomplete structures in Kinross ext.21 and 25, is neither here nor there.
“Its content has been extensively covered by the judgement of 23 September and in both matters the municipality is the applicant.
“Therefore, after the lapse of the set period of 31 October, the Sheriff will have to enforce the order.”
Mr Bheki Mnisi, chairman for Kinross Sanco, said they are not going anywhere and that they will fight for their rights.
“We are ready to die and will not tolerate the tricks of the municipality.
“The municipality must do the right thing and they know exactly what they should do.
“We are united as residents to fight and win this battle.”
They will embark on a peaceful sit-in march at the Kinross municipal offices on Thursday, 16 October.
Mr Masango said the right of assembly is constitutionally guaranteed if it is done within the set legal parameters such as to submit an application if an entity wants to host a march, but also hastened to say that disruption of the normal operation of the municipality in the form of a sit-in, is a criminal activity which will be dealt with through the applicable statutes.
