THE Ombudsman, Basilius Dyakugha, says despite his office not condoning lawlessness, it does not support the recent demolitions of the homesteads of illegal land occupiers at Katima Mulilo.
The Katima Mulilo Town Council and Kayuni Investments destroyed several homesteads belonging to illegal land occupiers at Lwanyanda informal settlement and Cowboy compound, claiming the land was earmarked for development projects.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Dyakugha noted how the structures at the settlement were demolished with little or no regard for human rights.
“All citizens should follow the lawful or legal channel to acquire their properties, including land and houses. However, it is common knowledge that there is a critical shortage of land, particularly in urban areas, for people to build their houses,” he said.
He said his office wandered whether the affected people were served with the required notices, and/or were given adequate time and clear information about what the consequences would be if they did not leave the area.
He called on local authorities to always find an amicable solution with the affected communities through mediation.
“The Katima Mulilo Town Council must know that what happened at Lwanyanda informal settlement traumatised children and many people lost everything they had worked for,” he said.
The Katima Mulilo mayor, Lister Shamalaza, told press a conference on Tuesday that the affected residents were given court orders to vacate the land within 10 days and a grace period of four days, which expired on 7 September, but they still did not vacate the land until they were forcefully removed.
“In 2019-20, after numerous communications and meetings with these land grabbers, the council and Kayuni Investments (Pty) Ltd engaged their lawyers to acquire a court order to evict them to pave way for the planned development. After obtaining the court order in 2020, the council again tried to communicate the court order to the land grabbers, but they were uncooperative and violent,” he said.
