Prince wants squatters gone

2003-07-10 19:37

Sizwe samaYende

Nelspruit - Rebellious Swazi prince Tinkontele Dlamini is bracing himself for a battle with Mpumalanga councillors for trying to remove "squatters" from land where his two wives have homes.

The Mbombela council in Nelspruit claims that it has a High Court interdict forbidding Prince Dlamini and his Lomshiyo tribal authorities from encouraging people to build houses on the land adjacent to Maputo Development Corridor N4 toll route near Matsulu township.

Prince Tinkontele, otherwise known for calling Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu's gift of a sedan a bribe early this year, claims that land at Matsulu B had belonged to him since the KaNgwane homeland days.

Mbombela council spokesperson Delia Oosthuizen said in a press statement that the squatters were served with notices about a month ago to vacate the land, which belongs to the council.

"[We] have hired a contractor to demolish the [houses]," Oosthuizen said.

She said the council had plans to do proper town planning by giving title deeds to occupants and installing water and sanitation infrastructure.

Spin-offs

The area, she said, would have economic spin-offs for the community if it was properly developed.

"The interdict basically restrains [Prince Dlamini] from inviting any member of the public to invade the land," said Oosthuizen.

Prince Tinkontele's spokesperson Mfana Sibiya said the council is fighting tribal leadership.

"Last year they demolished 20 houses and now they want to get rid of 50. They're fighting traditional leadership and don't realise that they're also harassing the people who voted for them," Sibiya said.

He added that the land in question had Lomshiyo tribal authority offices and two of the prince's wives live there.

Sibiya said Prince Tinkontele would take legal action.

'Bribe'

Prince Tinkontele, the most senior Swazi royal in South Africa, is becoming very unpopular amongst African National Congress (ANC) politicians.

He told Mahlangu earlier this year that his government's R9.2m vehicle scheme for the province's 54 traditional leaders was a "bribe" and the money would have been better used to provide water and other basic needs to rural communities.

Prince Tinkontele is meanwhile spearheading a campaign by 70 chiefs to be returned to the Kingdom of Swaziland.

The chiefs jointly administer almost one million subjects in Mpumalanga's rural Lowveld, as well as in the towns of Malelane, Barberton, Ermelo, Piet Retief, Badplaas and Pongola, and along KwaZulu-Natal's borders with Swaziland.

They have resurrected a string of colonial and apartheid era agreements to bolster their claim - including an original 1932 secession petition drafted by African National Congress (ANC) founding president Pixley Seme.

- African Eye