Interdict granted to remove invaders
A PROPERTY owner’s interdict to remove informal dwellers who have been illegally occupying privately owned land in Clare Estate, was granted in the Durban High Court on Monday.
The businessman launched an urgent application to have the dwellers removed from units he had been building on Spencer Road.
The man, who declined to be named, owns 12000m² of land.
Since buying the land 20 years ago, he has managed to complete 18 units that he intended to rent, and four more are semi-complete. Financial constraints have, however, prevented the completion of the complexes, and as a result they lie dormant.
A few weeks ago, formal residents tracked him down to notify him that land invaders had occupied the units and pegged plots on vacant land to build makeshift homes.
The Johannesburg resident immediately travelled to Durban and employed a team to clear the remainder of the land, which he intended fencing.
But within hours of clearing the bush, additional informal dwellers moved on to the property.
“When I was told people had moved into the units, I was afraid not just for my property but also for the people living in the area. I had to act quick. I am hoping they leave in a few days.”
His attorney, Shabeer Joosab, said: “The owner and the community worked hand in hand. His neighbours alerted him to what was happening on his property.”
Since last month, parts of Clare Estate, including Palmiet Drive and Chiltern Road, have experienced land invasions.
A teacher and landowner said: “As much as we empathise with their plight, we cannot allow them to build here.”
She said some of the dwellers had threatened her and hurled abuse at her, with some pegging plots “dangerously close” to her home in Morewood Road.
Another resident claimed she had not left her home in Spencer Road for more than a month.
“If I leave, they will get easy access on to my property. In this way, I can keep a lookout to see if anyone is making inroads.”
She claimed she was threatened last week.
“They told me they knew who I was and where I lived and that they had ‘marked me’.”
The eThekwini Municipality had not commented by the time of publication.