Disgruntled Limpopo residents hurl insults at SABC News crew

SABC News crew has been verbally abused while covering a story about a dispute over land ownership at Moletjie, outside Polokwane, in Limpopo.

South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) representatives, who accused the crew of taking sides, disrupted interviews and hurled insults.

A group of residents has accused the Moletjie Traditional Council of reneging on an agreement to allocate them a portion of land where their ancestral ruins are situated. They claim their forefathers were unlawfully dispossessed of the land.

The residents also say the council has instead been demarcating residential sites.

Community leader, Letona Mothata, says they cannot access some of their ancestral graves. Mothata says discussions with the local traditional authority have been futile.

“We have been discussing it with Kgosi Moloto, he promised us but unfortunately he is not giving the land.”

Moletjie Traditional Authority spokesperson, Matuma Moloto, accuses the community of illegally occupying the land.

“We cannot allow people to go there and occupy the land illegally, if they do that, we won’t tolerate it. If they need anything they should come, but then they should come as individuals not as a group, because we have a headman there, there is no headman within them. The headman is headman Mokgokong, if they come as individuals it is fine.”

Meanwhile, the community has reached out to another local chief Malesela Dikgale for assistance to intervene.