WHEN David Mothupi bought a piece of land in 2022, he wanted to start farming on it.
But he later found a private company occupying the land.
There is now a dispute over the piece of land in Maologane Village outside Rustenburg, North West and David believes the local tribal authority has failed him.
The 54-year-old, who is from the same village where his land is situated, said he was even threatened not to set foot on the land, which he said rightfully belonged to him.
"The problem started when I found that a private company had occupied it. I paid R10 000 for the land and spent over R13 000 to clean the space and fence it.
"I later found that the poles and fence were damaged and removed. Several pleas sent to the tribal authority for help to remove the illegal occupants were not heeded. I believe it's another strategy to force him off the land," he said.
David believes the company is paying rent to someone else.
"I opened a case, but the police are failing to intervene. There is no progress regarding the case, and I don't receive any updates. My goal was to start farming. I hoped that I would create more jobs for locals," he said.
Community headman Letlhogonolo Molotsi said he was aware of the situation. He said David was allocated the land, but it turned out someone had already made an application for it.
ALSO READ | Maspala 'blows' R38 million on a mkhukhuOpens in new window
Molotsi said this was done before he was inaugurated as headman but a proper hand over from the previous council was not done.
"We made efforts to allocate him another space, but he refused. He was then refunded," said Molotsi.
However, David said he never received any refund from the tribal authority.
Molotsi said he would arrange for David to meet with the company regarding the damages.
Police spokeswoman Captain Aafje Botma confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property was opened.
"No arrests have been made," said Botma, adding that the police are still busy with investigations.
