Pretoria - Government has appealed to South Africans to refrain from buying land from bogus sellers as they will not only lose their money, but they could be evicted and charged for illegally occupying the land.
The warning from Rural Development and Land Affairs comes in the wake of recent and ongoing land evasions in Walmanthsdall, north of Pretoria.
Desperate communities in the area are being sold land illegally and erecting stands on the piece of land belonging to the state.
Walmanthsdall farm is a finalised restitution claim that is in the process of being transferred to the Walmanthsdall Community Property Association (CPA) as successful restitution claimants.
Departmental head of communications, Eddie Ramakoloi Mohoebi said "scrupulous fraudsters" had since September last year been illegally selling sites and or encouraging people to illegally occupy the state land.
He said the department, together with representatives of the Walmanthsdall CPA, have been engaging the illegal occupiers in an effort to have them leave area and cease the illegal occupation.
According to Mohoebi the department resorted to courts when these efforts failed. The court's application to interdict the illegal occupiers was heard in September last year. The department was granted an interim order restraining invasion and the selling of portions of the farm and the illegal occupiers were subsequently served with the interim court order.
In spite of the interim orders served on them, the representatives of illegal occupiers of Walmanthsdall continued with their illegal occupation.
"It must be emphasized that there are at least two illegal acts being committed in this case the illegal selling of state land as well as the illegal occupation of state land that is being transferred to its rightful owners, the Walmanthsdall restitution claimants," he said.
Mohoebi said the department had consulted with its counsel and the State Attorney and was to approach the Registrar of High Court for a hearing date to seek a final order to ensure that people illegally occupying land in Walmanthsdall are evicted with immediate effect.
"It is unfortunate that scrupulous people are exploiting desperate poor communities, who stand to lose the money they have paid to these scrupulous characters when they are evicted from the land they are currently illegally occupying," he said.
