A land claim protest led to a temporary closure of the N2 Garden Route. The amaFengu community blockaded the national road, hoisting placards and calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene.
The residents say they have been waiting for over four decades to have the land returned. They were forcefully removed from Tsitsikamma to Keiskammehoek in 1977 under apartheid laws. They returned in 1994, after the Land Claims Restitution Act came into existence.
Decades later and 486 household land claims are still pending.
“We want the president to give this attention. We know he will be in Makhanda on the 27th and we will be there to tell him about our plight. It’s been years and we can’t carry on like this. Government needs to give us our land and the money that we are owed,” says Land Claim Task Team Chairperson, Mbongeni Ntsinde.
Kouga Mayor Samuel Vuso received the petition by residents, who have vowed to close the N2 again should their demands not be met.
“I have received the petition and I know this has been an ongoing issue here. I will table it to the presidency and respond back to the community in 7 days,” says Kouga Mayor, Samuel Vuso.
Residents are also threatening not to allow Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials to erect voting stations on May the 8th.
“I refuse to vote, and they will see, we won’t allow any IEC officials here. We will chase them away,” says one resident.
“The government will see how serious we are. We are ANC voters, but we vow that no party will get our votes until Ramaphosa intervenes in this matter,” added another resident.
The amaMFengu community says the land in question is a 75 kilometre stretch from Humansdorp extending west, past Storms River.
