By Luvuyo Mjekula
Makhanda was in the grip of a land dispute that escalated into violent clashes between local residents and Public Order Police (POPS) last week. The fallout came about after nearly 2 000 “landless” residents occupied the vacant, vast grassland known as eGalfini in Joza on Sunday, 27 July.
The area was a hive of activity with more than 100 vehicles parked nearby as people were digging holes with picks and shovels and demarcating sites with wooden poles and strings in order to mark out pieces of land. They even gave their planned settlement a name, Empolweni, isiXhosa for a place to relax.
Makana Municipality intervention
However, the Makana Municipality was quick to intervene, with mayor Yandiswa Vara rushing to the scene to address the scores of residents and a land invasion case opened. The mayor told the residents their actions were unlawful because the land was earmarked for commercial development and it was not suitable for human occupation as it was susceptible to flooding. Vara warned that the law would take its course if they did not stop the occupation.
After nearly an hour of back-and-forth arguments, an agreement was reached, albeit tentatively, that a residents’ committee would meet with the mayor on Monday morning. However, despite the arrangement and a heavy police presence, many residents carried on marking their sites. But before they could finish, Public Order Police officers arrived and chased the residents off the area with teargas and stun grenades, declaring the land a crime scene.
Public Order Police and residents clash
On Monday morning, a smaller group of residents returned to the area and gathered near the Eluxolweni intersection, with POPS members on high alert. Violent clashes soon ensued with the police firing stun grenades and teargas and the residents blocking roads with burning tyres and rocks. It is unclear who started the confrontation, but the residents accused the police of firing at a peaceful gathering.
The clashes continued throughout Monday, with the residents refusing to back down. They blockaded all major roads in Joza with burning tyres and rocks, forcing motorists to find other routes.
Mass meeting at Indoor Sports Centre
Calm returned to Joza on Tuesday as the two parties agreed to sit down and try to find common ground. In a meeting that lasted about four hours at the Joza Indoor Sports Centre, hundreds of residents including leaders of civic movements and community leaders faced off with Makana Municipality leadership.
Things were volatile from the start of the gathering as residents sought to make their unwavering stance clear, jeering certain speakers. The residents argued that settlements like Enkanini and Ethembeni now exist despite initial pushback from the municipality.
Mayor Vara and her team of Municipal Manager Pumelelo Kate, Council Speaker Mabhuti Matyumza and councillors, reiterated that it was unlawful to occupy the piece of land. But the residents were having none of it. They vowed to return to the land.
Outpouring about housing struggles
The residents narrated personal struggles to find suitable shelter, with some detailing moving stories of being forced out of their homes by family members. Many of the residents said their big families were forced to share small houses.
Vuyokazi Ngcete said her child was approved for an RDP house at provincial level, but the child’s name was removed by local officials. “I live under my child, even though I am the mother. We are here so that if [the municipality]doesn’t want to help us with houses, we help ourselves.”
Another resident said she she shares her small home with brothers and children. “There are many of us including a 14-year-old child. They talk about flooding, but we already live in waterlogged places.”
The residents placed the blame squarely on Vara and the municipality’s shoulders.
Mayor denies shoot-to-kill order
Vara said untrue statements were made at the meeting, including an allegation that she issued a shoot-to-kill order to the police during the residents’ protests. She has rejected the claim. “As I have said, I don’t have authority or powers to give that mandate. And I would never give that kind of mandate. Mine was to say ‘Why are you allowing people to burn the roads?’. SAPS cannot take a mandate from me and Colonel Mbulelo Pika has clarified that.” She said it is the responsibility of law enforcement officers to make sure municipal property is protected.
Civic movements in solidarity with residents
Meanwhile, civic organisations have thrown their weight behind the residents.
Archbishop Nkosinathi Ngesi, a local community leader, urged the municipal leaders to submit to the residents’ demands. He also pleaded with the residents not to burn municipal property.
The South African Communist Party in Makana Sub District (under Chule KK Papiyane District) says it has noted the matter with concern. “As the SACP, we first and foremost condemn both the shooting of innocent poor landless people who in their own rightful understanding were seeking to provide dignity of shelter unto themselves and be recognised residents. We further condemn any form of land invasion which seeks to undermine the rule of law and creation of social instability.”
The party said it is under no illusion that the “landless” people of Makana are driven by the material conditions of not having shelter which will afford them human dignity. It said it has been about 13 years since housing development was last seen in Makhanda and referred to the incomplete Mayfield Housing Project, often referred to as Extension 10, where over 1 200 houses remain to be constructed.
The SACP said the locals have repeatedly been told about Phase 2 of the Mayfield Housing Project and the Ethembeni Housing Project, where the inhabitants of Ethembeni Location were promised housing.
“Thirteen years later, no progress has been accomplished. As a Communist Party, we are more concerned and taken aback moreover that the vacant land in R67, which for many years has never been occupied for anything besides grazing and traditional affairs activities, is today indicated to be earmarked for business developments.”
The party called on its alliance partner, the ANC, to resolve the impasse.
Xolani Simakuhle of Isiko Loluntu, an organisation that handles matters related to the isiXhosa initiation tradition, pointed out challenges that would be brought about by a settlement in the area, part of which houses initiates during the June and December seasons. “We understand our people want houses – that is not a joke. They have been promised them for a long time and it is the government’s responsibility to provide housing. And as traditional leaders, livestock owners, traditional healers, we say we feel your pain.”
However, Simakuhle said a settlement in the area would bring women and initiates into close proximity. Women are not permitted in and around initiation schools. His statements were met with loud jeers at the meeting.
Mayor asks for 14 days
In a development that brought a clearer direction to the meeting and some calm the residents accepted the mayor’s request for 14 days to consult before providing a definitive response.
“After hours of robust discussions between the municipality and the protesting residents, an agreement was reached to suspend the protest and any land occupation for a period of 14 days to allow the municipality to follow internal processes to address the residents’ concerns,” a statement from Makana spokesperson Anele Mjekula said.
He added: “Makana Local Municipality would like to urge community members to remain calm while all efforts are being made to find a resolution to the housing challenges they voiced to the municipality.” Mjekula said while the municipality understands the plight of the people and the desperate need for land, it has a duty to protect municipal property.
“It is against this background that the municipality has obtained an interim interdict, prohibiting the entering of the area known as “Golf Course” for the purpose of erecting structures. The interdict doesn’t mean that the municipality will not carry out the agreement that was reached in the public meeting, however the municipality is safeguarding its property.
“The municipality will respond to the concerns raised by the residents within the 14-day period as agreed. Makana Municipality is committed to finding a suitable resolution to the issues raised by the residents.”
