Black farmer turns to AfriForum for help

DR MASERUMULE: BLACK LAND OWNER PRAISES RIGHTS GROUP AFTER POLICE FAILED TO HELP

Land grabbers were issued eviction notice and Red Ants acted quickly.

Ablack farm owner was forced to turn to minority rights group AfriForum for help after police allegedly failed to help him to remove land grabbers who had occupied his farm outside Pretoria.

Dr Motodi Maserumule now fears that the “aggressive” trespassers who were evicted yesterday would return.

He said the Soshanguve police failed to remove the land grabbers who had occupied his 120-hectare farm in Onderstepoort, north of Pretoria.

The farm, which has four plots, was bought in 2007 by business partners. Maserumule said they were due to start farming on it.

But about two weeks ago, trespassers made the agricultural plot their new home. Since then, Maserumule and his parteners had been begging police to remove them.

“I came on Monday to speak to them [land grabbers] when they were starting to occupy and build their so-called office,” he told The Citizen yesterday.

“I asked them what they were doing on my property and they dismissed me.

“I had papers to prove it’s my farm but they didn’t care. They were saying political slogans.

“I think they are thugs. They got more aggressive with time.”

Upon returning to negotiate with them last week Thursday, the land grabbers chased him away. He immediately went to Soshanguve police station, but says that he was refused help as his property “was not fenced”.

“But the fence was stolen a couple of years ago. The police refused to help me,” he said. “One of my neighbours told me to contact AfriForum. It took me three days and nothing happened but when they arrived, they managed to open a case after an hour.”

Last week, the land grabbers were issued with an eviction notice granted by the High Court in Johannesburg. But the new “land owners” refused to budge until they were forcefully removed by the Red Ants yesterday.

Speaking from his now-free plot yesterday, Maserumule said he would increase security on his property, but said he feared the land grabbers would return.

AfriForum’s community safe- ty head Ian Cameron said it was important to follow the relevant steps in removing trespassers. “We believe the steps taken to remove the trespassers and structures will send a strong message that trespassers will not be tolerated.”

Pictures: Jacques Nelles HARD AT WORK. The Red Ants burn what was left of the illegal structures on an 120-hectare farm in Onderstepoort, north of Pretoria, where they evicted the ‘aggressive’ trespassers yesterday. Land owner Dr Motodi Maserumule and his partners had struggled to get police to act after the farm was occupied illegally two weeks ago. The land owners were eventually helped by AfriForum.