Image: KEVIN SUTHERLAND
Land grabs Economic Freedom Fighters-style are likely to spread throughout the country.
The EFF's ward 86 branch, in Pretoria, yesterday claimed it had been inundated with calls from the party's branches in other parts of the country wanting to know how it had pulled off the invasion of council-owned land, along the N4 highway.
"They want to follow suit in implementing the party's expropriation of land," EFF member Eddie Mathiba said.
He claimed he received calls from as far as Northern Cape, Free State and Limpopo.
EFF leader Julius Malema distanced himself from the campaign. "I know nothing about it, I was writing exams," he said.
Several people were injured on Monday morning when Tshwane metro police fired rubber bullets to disperse a crowd queueing for stands.
This did not stop people from clearing their portions and erecting shacks in "Malemaville".
By late yesterday, five shacks were built on 10 of the 400 allocated stands.
Alvin Legodi, 31, of Senotlelo in Mpumalanga said he borrowed R700 to buy seven new corrugated iron sheets to erect his shack.
"I am serious about this and I know many people who got land by fighting," he said.
More than 2000 queued to be on the list of recipients of free stands.
EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi supported the invasion.
"We are fully in support of the action by the communities. We are more than proud to associate with this action.
"The ANC has no concrete plan for returning land to our people and the EFF has a programme."
The Tshwane municipality has put its land invasion unit on standby as it heads to the Pretoria High Court for an urgent interdict to block the invasion.
Council spokesman Blessing Manale described the EFF's campaign as "desperate electioneering" ahead of the 2016 local government elections.
ANC Gauteng spokesman Dumisa Ntuli condemned the land-grabs, saying: "The EFF cannot impose Nazi policies to orchestrate and influence people to grab land illegally."