DA needs to stand up against land invasions

YOUR front-page lead story “Homes in a war zone: Durban residents cower as cops ignore their plight” (The Independent on Saturday, August 19), refers.

It is no secret that land invasions are now becoming more intense, many in so-called Indian areas. Areas hit hard by land invaders include Clare Estate, Reservoir Hills, Sydenham, Kenville, Greenwood Park, Avoca, Chatsworth, Shallcross, Sea Cow Lake, Bonela in Mayville and many other suburbs in the eThekwini region.

In Bonela, the situation has become volatile as invaders and residents are fighting over who is entitled to the land. People are afraid to leave their homes because the area is full of strangers with bush knifes, machetes and even guns. Residents are living in constant fear.

The invasions of properties by squatters, I believe, are crises generated by the incendiary speeches of Julius Malema, who feels he is untouchable.

These acts of violence are transgressions punishable by the laws of the country. However, it seems the authorities are quite content to let matters trundle along instead of implementing the swift execution of justice.

The official opposition, the DA, is too preoccupied with the pursuit of lawsuits against President Jacob Zuma, while right here on our doorsteps, situations are on the brink of igniting a powder keg.

The statics of the 2016 local government elections indicated that the majority of votes in several wards received by the DA in the eThekwini region were the contribution of the Indian electorate.

It was therefore expected that the DA would have moved heaven and earth to protect the rights of those voters who supported it. It is missing in action.

The residents of Bonela and from other areas affected by land invasions are not manifesting any hatred or revulsion against anybody but are merely protecting their legal rights, investments and their security against invaders who seem to have come from God knows where.

As South Africa is a constitutional democracy, it behoves the authorities to see that the laws of the land are not violated.

And the DA needs to flex its muscle, notwithstanding its marriage of convenience with the EFF. Failure to do so will be an indictment on the DA.