AfriForum obtains order against landgrabbers

AfriForum obtained an order today in the Northern Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to support the beleaguered community of Elandsfontein south of Johannesburg in removing landgrabbers who appropriated private property for themselves in an arbitrary manner and started erecting structures.

This follows the community’s pleas to the De Deur police station, which fell on deaf ears, however.

“A desperate community approached AfriForum, who brought an urgent application before the court in a bid to stop the landgrabbers in their tracks. The interim court order will now be served on the landgrabbers, after which arrangements will be made to remove the structures and prohibit the landgrabbers the area,” says Marnus Kamfer, Legal and Risk Manager at AfriForum.

“The arrogance with which the landgrabbers commit these crimes is frightening,” says Ian Cameron, AfriForum’s Head of Community Safety. “The court order will be executed and enforced as soon as possible. The community has lost all trust in the SAPS, who simply watch while crimes are committed under their noses.”

Cameron also says that riots and land grabs have started to emerge again since the implementation of level 3 regulations.

Kamfer emphasises the importance of landowners familiarising themselves with their rights and implementing contingency plans to prevent any attempts of land grabbing. It is also important to report landgrabs immediately and to contact AfriForum without fail.