Legal battle looms over invaded J-Bay land
Kouga Municipality going to court to halt illegal construction on critical conservation area
Nature conservation groups are up in arms about the critical conservation land Wayne Petersen and his family have invaded near Jeffreys Bay.
The Kouga Municipality, meanwhile, is going to court to halt the construction he has already begun on the prime piece of land.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has also laid a criminal complaint against him for allegedly stealing water from the Churchill Dam bulk water supply line that runs through Papiesfontein.
The conservation organisations are backed by Khoi leader Klaas Stuurman’s family, which lays historical claim to the area but is happy for it to be declared a nature reserve.
The land is owned by the provincial human settlements department.
Petersen, however, says land cannot be owned by anyone — and he sees nothing wrong with running his cattle there or with his plans to establish a Khoi cultural village.
Kouga municipal manager Charl du Plessis said Petersen moved onto the land in December.
“We could do nothing because even if a piece of land has been illegally occupied only the land owner can carry out evictions.
“Papiesfontein belongs to the department of human settlements so we wrote to alert them about the situation.”
He said the department had not acted immediately and, in January, the land invader started erecting a structure.
“What he was doing was not part of our building plans and he had submitted no documents in this regard so we served papers on him calling on him to immediately stop.
“He ignored that instruction so now we are taking the matter to the high court to apply for an interdict.”
Nelson Mandela Bay municipality infrastructure and engineering political head Dries van der Westhuizen said the metro had at one point responded to allegations that Petersen was illegally tapping into the metro’s bulk water supply, which runs from the Churchill Dam through Papiesfontein.
“NMBM officials gave him a warning and a criminal complaint was opened with the police.
“The water pipe was repaired and covered again,” he
said. Retired engineer Don McGillivray, who serves on an array of Kouga community conservation bodies, said these groups had been working on a plan to link Papiesfontein with the Kabeljous Nature Reserve in conjunction with the authorities and the Stuurman family for seven years.
“Our aim is that the EC Parks and Tourism Agency, which is already in charge of Kabeljous, will take Papiesfontein over and the Greater Kromme Stewardship Programme, through its wind farms partnership, will help with funding.
“Our proposed name for the reserve is the Captain Klaas Stuurman Nature Reserve.
“It will be a wonderful boost for environmental and cultural tourism.
“But now this land invasion has happened and we are very concerned,” he said.
According to Wentzel Coetzer of Conservation Outcomes, which is supporting community efforts to protect Papiesfontein, on the north side of Jeffreys Bay, the land contains unique vegetation called Humansdorp shale renosterveld.
“This vegetation is 100% endemic to the Eastern Cape province — which means it doesn’t occur anywhere else in the world.
“Papiesfontein contains some of the last and best portions of Humansdorp shale renosterveld.”
He said Humansdorp shale renosterveld was critically important for the endangered black harrier — the scarcest endemic bird of prey in Southern Africa.
“There are only about 1,300 individuals left in the world,” Coetzer said.
“Black harriers are regularly recorded at the KabeljousPapiesfontein land, and the Humansdorp shale renosterveld there provides important breeding and hunting ground for the species.”
Specialists had been monitoring the black harrier population and a breeding pair was recently recorded on the Papiesfontein land.
“Unfortunately, the nest was abandoned and the chicks died shortly after the illegal land invasion started and the black harrier specialists strongly suspect it was as a result of the disturbances in the veld by the illegal land invaders.”
Coetzer said the KabeljousPapiesfontein land contained a substantial network of wetlands that were recognised as national freshwater ecosystem priority areas.
“The site would therefore make a significant contribution to meeting national biodiversity conservation goals for freshwater ecosystems in SA.”
Eastern Cape economic development, environmental affairs and tourism department regional environment director Dayalan Govender said in his letter to human settlements that Papiesfontein was of “exceptional conservation value”.
“The land use on Papiesfontein will directly affect the integrity of the Kabeljous Nature Reserve.
“[The department] would like to express its support for improved protection of Papiesfontein.”
Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency biodiversity stewardship programme manager Malaika Koali-Lebona said: “The Papiesfontein land would make a tremendous contribution to achieving provincial conservation targets.”
Edmund Stuurman said the Stuurman family’s original Gamtoos Valley Kraal was situated between the Gamtoos, Loerie and Kabeljous rivers before it was given to Jacob van Reenen II as a loan farm.
“In 1778, the farm was given on loan to Hilgert Muller, and he evicted the Stuurman family.”
He said subsequently, however, after the1799-1802 regional wars in which Captain Klaas Stuurman led the Khoi and the Xhosa to victory against the British, the Stuurmans had been granted ownership of Papiesfontein by the Crown.
“It is against this backdrop that we make the argument that the invasion of Papiesfontein — one of the farms within the location of the original kraal of Klaas Stuurman — is an unwelcome and distasteful occurrence.
“It is nothing short of an attempt to ignite lawlessness under Khoi communities by setting an example that it is within your right to grab land that does not belong to you,” he said.
He said he agreed with the conservation plan for Papiesfontein and that Petersen had no rightful claim to the land.
Standing in front of the small house he has built on Papiesfontein, with a panoramic view of the sea, for him, his wife and daughter, 45-year-old Petersen said the land in fact belonged historically
‘This vegetation is 100% endemic to the Eastern Cape province — which means it doesn’t occur anywhere else in the world. Papiesfontein contains some of the last and best portions of Humansdorp shale renosterveld’
to his //are-re //eis people, of which he was a recognised chief and not to the Stuurmans.
“But land ownership is a Roman Dutch construct. Nobody owns land except God.”
He confirmed that he had nevertheless padlocked Papiesfontein’s perimeter gate at one point but this was not because he was claiming ownership but rather because the land was sacred.
Asked about the bruise on his face, he said he had been in an altercation with a member of the public who had taken exception to the padlock.
“We had a fight as I tried to make a citizen’s arrest.
“He had cut the padlock and I believed he may be trying to steal my cattle which I have here on Papiesfontein.”
Petersen said his aim was to create a traditional village where Khoi culture could be taught and his first batch of five young candidates were the ones staying in the tents dotted around the property.
“I am educating them in dorob /habab, which is the culture of my people.
“In the future, there will be more coming.”