A legal bid by illegal land occupiers in De Wagendrift, near Cullinan, to be compensated by the City of Tshwane after they were forcefully evicted has failed.
This was after a group of 143 people approached the High Court in Pretoria with a view to challenge the eviction by the City of Tshwane metro police and also seek compensation for damages done to their properties during their forceful removal.
The people unlawfully moved onto municipal-owned land in the first half of last year, and in August, the City affixed cease-and-desist notices to all the half-built structures, informing their owners to immediately stop all building activities.
MMC for Community Safety Grandi Theunissen said: “On September 22, 2023, the City proceeded to remove the unlawful structures. The invaders then approached the court, asking for an order to declare the eviction unlawful and unconstitutional.”
Part of their court action was to force the City to allow them access to the property, to return their building material or, alternatively, to provide them with emergency accommodation and to pay each of them R1 500 in damages.
Theunissen said: “Based on the available evidence provided by the illegal invaders and the City, the court found no reason to grant the relief that the invaders sought.”
He welcomed the court ruling in favour of the municipality and expressed gratitude to officials involved in the case for their diligence and hard work.
“I also want to warn potential land invaders that the City will not tolerate the lawlessness that they aim to cause. I want to point out that while this case involved municipal land, private landowners have a responsibility to ensure that their properties are protected against land invasion and to instigate the necessary eviction procedures in a timely manner, should their properties be invaded,” he said.
He encouraged residents to report land invasions to the Tshwane Metro Police Department on 012 358 7095/7096 or [email protected].
Pretoria News