Rival claims for KZN land

02 Sanna Mathlangu leaves the Land Claims Court in Randburg, for deliberation on her families alledged illegal eviction from a plot in Lanseria where she as been living for 67 years . Picture: Antoine de Ras .20/10/2010

02 Sanna Mathlangu leaves the Land Claims Court in Randburg, for deliberation on her families alledged illegal eviction from a plot in Lanseria where she as been living for 67 years . Picture: Antoine de Ras .20/10/2010

Published Jan 20, 2015

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Durban - Massive tracts of land in Camperdown, Richmond and Mid Illovo, already under claim by three communities, have had another 400 new claims lodged against them with the Land Claims Commission.

This emerged on Monday, when the Land Claims Court, which is sitting in the Durban High Court, held a pre-hearing conference related to the existing claims by the Embo, Nkumbuleni and Masibuyelemakhaya communities and some individuals.

 

The claims, which could be among the biggest in KwaZulu-Natal, affect mostly farmland owned by private landowners and companies.

The matter, which is part heard, is expected to be taken up again next week.

The communities and the individual claimants say they were dispossessed by the British and apartheid governments and are seeking restoration of the land, alternative land or financial compensation. Some of the individual claimants have title deeds for the land which they say was taken from them.

The new claims are as a result of the reopening of the land claims process through the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act, which was signed into law last June. Owing to the Act, the land claims process, which was closed 15 years ago, was reopened with a new deadline of 2018 for claims.

On Monday, advocate Alan Dodson, who is acting for the minister of land reform, said the majority of the new claimants were asking for financial compensation, while the remainder wanted their land restored to them or alternative land.

He said the land reform department was also alive to the issue of “overcompensation” and that claimants should not be allowed to “double dip”.

Advocate Matthys Gerhardus Roberts, who is acting for the Midlands South Group, which makes up the majority of the landowners who are affected by the claims, said it would be important to find out whether the new claimants formed part of the communities or were connected to other individual claimants. “We need to know whether these claims slot into the community claims and which properties are involved,” he said.

The advocates acting for the communities said their attorneys would meet their clients to discuss the new claims.

Advocate Thandi Norman, for the Embo community, said the community leader was looking at the new claims and consulting communities. Advocate Dashendra Naidoo, for the Nkumbuleni community, said checking the new claims would be a “massive exercise” and he would keep the court updated on progress.

Last year, concerns were raised by land rights activists and local commercial farmers after King Goodwill Zwelithini said he would lodge a blanket claim for all the land in the province as it had once belonged to the Zulu kingdom.

The claim was being managed by the Ingonyama Trust, which said it would claim all land that did not belong to the trust. The trust is responsible for 2.8 million hectares in KwaZulu-Natal.

Last week, the king lashed out at critics of his land claim and said some were plotting to thwart him.

He said the land had been “taken” and had to be returned.

The Mercury

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