The High Court in Pretoria has ordered illegal occupants of Wallmansthal, north of the city, to vacate government-owned land within 15 days.
In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Joseph Raulinga issued a court order compelling the occupants of Wallmansthal to demolish their structures and remove their belongings.
“I understand that the land issue is a very emotive one in our country and there is a genuine need. Government has put policies in place with regards to land restitution. We have to respect those policies,” he said.
“We cannot take the law into our own hands. We have instances where greedy elements take advantage of the poor. That is lack of respect for the law.”
The application was brought by the rural development and land reform department, which was busy transferring the land to successful claimants.
According to an earlier court order no one was allowed to settle on the land until infrastructure had been installed.
Large numbers of people nevertheless started moving in, setting up informal dwellings on plots that were apparently unlawfully sold at R400 a piece to members of the public. – Sapa