/ 15 April 2009

Armed mob invades land reform project in Mpumalanga

An armed mob has invaded a major land reform project in Malelane, Mpumalanga, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The mob, armed with knives and machetes, seized control of the farm, the country’s biggest land restitution project by value, Business Day said.

It is one of several farms handed back to four communities who lost their land under apartheid legislation. The paper said the invaders were unhappy with the progress of the project, despite warnings that it would take up to three years before a return from what had been badly neglected farms.

The incident occurred last Thursday.

Agribusiness Umlimi, which controls the farm management company Makhombo for the Lugedlane community, was quoted by the paper as saying the invasion was a consequence of unreasonable profit expectations.