MIDVAAL. – The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the handing down of an order by the North Gauteng High Court granting permission for the eviction of land invaders who have illegally occupied land in Elandsfontein, in Midvaal, south Gauteng.
The application, successfully brought by residents with the assistance of civil rights group Afriforum, was heard on Friday 19 June 2020 and an order of the court was granted immediately.
While the land invasions have taken place on privately owned land, the DA-led Midvaal Municipality has been working with local landowners to bring an administrative solution to the land invasions.
Ward Councillor Lesley Visser worked closely with the community and the responsible De Deur Police Station, which is too under-resourced to deal with an invasion of this magnitude.
The illegal occupation of land began early in June, and landowners have been under constant threat from the invaders who are being enticed with fraudulent promises of land ownership for as little as R250 per stand.
It is unclear who is fraudulently selling the land to the invaders, but it is certainly not the legitimate owners, many of whom are living on the properties and yet have been powerless against the sheer number and aggression of the land invaders.
The DA has welcomed the decision of the court and has now called upon Gauteng Premier David Makhura to assist landowners to preserve their rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights, Chapter 2 of the Constitution.
The DA says it is aware of numerous cases against land invasion, intimidation and assault that have been formally opened at the De Deur Station and calls for more well-trained and well-equipped police to be deployed to deal with the lawless, bullying land thieves.