Johannesburg – A group of around 2 000 land invaders were stopped from illegally occupying a farm in Bapsfontein, authorities said on Sunday.
Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Wilfred Kgasago, said the crowd of people were allegedly conned into believing they were occupying the land legally.
“The land invaders claimed that they had in the past week forked out a total of R200 each which they were made to believe was towards a water tank (R100) and land (R50).”
Kgasago said the person who misled the community claimed the land was purchased legally but that authorities had managed to convince the crowd that they were illegally occupying the land. They left peacefully after that, he said.
He added that the majority of those interviewed claimed they hailed from Witbank, Tembisa, Soweto and Delmas.
"Apparently, the people converged on Saturday morning because of promises of sites to be cut for them," he said.
Kgasago said investigations were underway.
