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Headman Rembuluwani Nduvheni shows the documents of the Mushasha Commission where  Nduvheni is ruled to be the legitimate traditional leader of Ngalavhani village. He also holds up the Thohoyandou High Court order that instructs people who erected stands in Ngalavhani Zone 3 illegally, to vacate the place as soon as possible.

No to land grab

 

The Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou ordered people who occupy stands at Ngalavhani village illegally to vacate these and demolish the structures within 14 days.

The case served before judge Khami Makhafola two weeks ago. He ruled that the defendants, Matombo Nengalavhani and Ntanganedzeni Nengalavhani, be interdicted from occupying and developing the land situated at Ngalavhani Zone 3. They have to vacate and demolish their stands within 14 days, starting from 15 May.

According to headman Rembuluwani Nduvheni of Ngalavhani village, the problems started surfacing some two years ago. He noticed that people were developing stands in Zone 3 of his village without his approval. He told them that they must stop with the development.

In spite of his warnings that the development must stop, some of the people continued to occupy the sites and erect structures. In 2019, he turned to the court to assist him. “I told them (the illegal occupiers) that I am the legal traditional leader of the village and anyone wishing to do development must first consult with the Nduvheni Royal Council,” he said.

According to Nduvheni, the illegal occupation of sites has a longer history. Around 1990, a dispute arose about the traditional leadership in the village. The Nengalavhani clan took the matter to the somewhat controversial Mushasha Commission for adjudication. Rembuluwani Nduvheni was then ruled to be the rightful traditional leader at Ngalavhani village, as he succeeded his late father, headman George Makhwanya Nduvheni, who had ruled the village until his death in 1983. Headman Rembuluwani Nduvheni was installed a year later, in 1984.

The Mushasha Commission dismissed the claim of Gideon Nengalavhani that he should be recognised as one of the headmen. The late Mr Gideon Nengalavhani is the father of Mr Matombo Nengalavhani, one of the defendants in the latest case.

In his ruling, Judge Makhafola also awarded costs to Nduvheni on an attorney-and-own-client scale. The defendants were ordered to pay the costs of the sheriff for the removal of the structures and any other costs incurred by the sheriff.

Efforts to get comment from Mr Matombo Nengalavhani were unsuccessful. The cell number provided for him was not working.

 

 

Date:29 May 2020

By: Silas Nduvheni

Read: 1274

 

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