Police warn against illegal land occupations

Chronicle Reporter
POLICE and the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement have warned people against illegally resettling themselves on gazetted State land as they risk being arrested.
This follows an outcry by a war veteran whose shelter was destroyed by the police at Umhlonyane Farm in the Matopos.
Cde Joe Maphosa , who claimed to have been resettled on the farm in February last year by the Government under the land reform programme, accused the police of violating his right to land ownership by destroying his tin hut.

“I was resettled by the Government in February 2012 under the land reform programme and now I feel so disappointed because police came and destroyed my property and that is illegal. They even detained me in their cells,” he said.

Cde Maphosa from St Joseph’s area in Kezi said he had been allocated 200 hectares under the A2 model. He alleged that he was evicted by the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement to pave way for two white commercial farmers.

The chief lands officer for Matabeleland South Province, Mr Romiel Mthimkhulu, said the farm on which Cde Maphosa claimed to have been resettled is State land belonging to Matopo Research Station.

“The law clearly states that for one to occupy land you should produce an offer letter from the district administrator, a permit and a lease from the acquiring authority who is the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement in terms of the Land Acquisition Act. Those people who occupied the farm in the Matopos don’t know how land is allocated.

“There are procedures that need to be followed and besides that State land cannot be gazetted since it is institutional land,” he said.
Police spokesperson for Matabeleland South province, Assistant Inspector Christopher Ngwenya confirmed that they destroyed a shelter belonging to Cde Maphosa, saying he was illegally occupying State land.

“We received a report on 26 May that Joe Maphosa, who is a war veteran, illegally occupied Umhlonyane Farm, which belongs to Matopo Research Station. He had built a shack and we went and destroyed the structure,” he said.

Asst Insp Ngwenya said on 18 August, Maphosa Cde re-invaded the farm.

“On 19 August, we received another report from the supervisor of Matopo Research Station that Maphosa had re-invaded the farm. We deployed our officers and they arrested him on charges of criminal trespass and he has since appeared in court,” he said.