Landgrabs will cause deaths – Cope

South Africans of all races will be killed if government expropriates properties without compensation, Congress of the People (Cope) leader Mosiuoa Lekota said yesterday.

“If South Africans allow the majority in that parliament to take people’s properties forcefully ... then blacks, Indians and whites are going to be killed,” Lekota said in Johannesburg.

“We would be allowing that if we vote for men and women who are going to act recklessly ... as some of the speeches I heard at Unisa reveal. Hence, I said those of us who fought for this constitution will not allow this ... we will resist as best as we can.”

Lekota, a former ANC Cabinet minister, was clarifying his views on the impending land expropriation Bill adopted by parliament after he was booed on Monday during a land debate at the University of South Africa in Pretoria.

He told the audience the land was not stolen from black people, it was won in wars. “You cannot say land was stolen, that is belittling ... we fought for our freedom. We fought nine battles, defending ourselves. There is no British army commander who can claim he defeated the Basotho and reached the top of Thaba Bosiu mountain [in Lesotho].”

He added that government was in charge of enough land it could release to people, instead of going the expropriation route. – ANA