Public order police (POP) had to intervene in a protest in uMzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, where President Cyril Ramaphosa handed out title deeds to claimant groups previously dispossessed of their land rights.
The handover ceremony at the Esayidi TVET College in the Harry Gwala municipality was disrupted when disgruntled community members waved placards bearing different messages during Ramaphosa’s speech, triggering the deployment of POP inside the marquee.
During the handing over of the title deeds, community members attempted to charge towards the stage, however their efforts were thwarted.
Land reform and rural development minister Mzwanele Nyhontso was expected to restore more than 17,000ha of land to four groups of claimants:
- the St Paul community;
- the Ngunjini community;
- the Ndzimankulu/Vierkant community; and
- the Lawrence family.
The protesters, however, claimed the beneficiaries didn’t represent all the affected parties.
TimesLIVE
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