MK veterans arrested for South Coast house grab
● Thirteen Umkhonto weSizwe veterans are behind bars for illegally occupying units in a housing development near a KwaZulu-Natal South Coast golf course.
The former MK fighters were arrested on Monday when they refused to leave unfinished units at the Masinenge housing project near the Margate golf course when the sheriff served an eviction order.
The provincial department of human settlements said the men would appear in court on Tuesday.
They are among hundreds of members of the MK Military Veterans Association who have been illegally occupying housing developments across the province.
“They need the houses. This has been going on for years and has nothing to do with land expropriation without compensation. We won’t back down,” said Themba Mavundla, provincial chairman of the group.
He said veterans were illegally occupying flats in Cornubia, north of Durban, and at the Aloe Ridge social housing complex in Westgate Grange, Pietermaritzburg.
KwaZulu-Natal human settlements department spokesman Mbulelo Baloyi said 151 Aloe Ridge units had been illegally occupied.
“Capital City Housing, responsible for the overall administration and rental collection at Aloe Ridge, obtained an eviction notice on February 28 and the military veterans were supposed to vacate the units by March 5, but they have not,” Baloyi said.
He said the department tried to facilitate a meeting between Capital City Housing and the veterans.
“On the sidelines, we have tried to fasttrack the release of more serviced sites in the Msunduzi municipal area so that the construction of houses for eligible military veterans can begin in earnest,” Baloyi said.
“Already 19 foundation slabs have been cast in the Glenwood area of Pietermaritzburg
to build houses for military veterans.”
Meanwhile, land invaders, who allegedly illegally bought plots from local chief Mqoqi Ngcobo, have been ordered to vacate one of the many affected farms in the historic Tea Estate area in Inanda.
The High Court in Durban ruled this week that the land grabbers, who had already flattened a sugar-cane crop to make way for their houses, must leave immediately.
The land is being worked by a group of small-scale farmers who hold the title deeds and are fighting the illegal sale of the plots. They brought the court application for an interdict against Ngcobo.