Early in 1968 the apartheid government decreed that African people in and around the community at Maria Ratschitz mission near Ladysmith were to be forcibly removed and dumped on barren exposed land called at Limehill. This was not the first or the last of the forced removals characteristic of the apartheid regime's determination to deny towns and cities to the African people and instead to constitute black political entities, "homelands", on the remaining land occupied by Africans.
The apartheid dream was of South African cities and farms emptied of black people and "homeland" black police states fighting semi-autonomously against the inevitable resistance. Africans would then be confirmed as citizenless foreigners in the land of their birth. But the Limehill removal was the signal for a sustained campaign of opposition which pulled together the internal opposition, exposed the crimes of the Nationalist Party government, and spurred even dilatory Western powers into formal opposition. These horrors led to apartheid being declared a crime against humanity.
At the centre of this opposition was Cosmas Desmond, the priest located at Maria Ratschitz, who died on Saturday, March 31. He gave himself to the task of documenting and exposing these removals taking place throughout the country. A veteran VW Beetle was bought and he disappeared down dirt roads and beyond into roadless rural areas bearing previously unrecognised names such as Mondlo, Mdantsane, Sada, Ilinge, Dimbaza, Zwelitsha, Botshabelo, Alcockspruit, Waschbank, KwaNgema and Driefontein. He would reappear in Johannesburg in 1969 with notes and manuscripts which eventually made up the book published by the Christian Institute as The Discarded People. His book chronicled the dumping of people wrongly located in the plan of apartheid and "surplus" to the needs of capitalism in remote areas without houses, food and support.
Removals in isolated rural areas involved the humiliation of people reduced to quietly ascending the removal trucks under the gaze and guns of the police and left destitute on barren land. This institutionalised, administrative violence was designed to drive the "surplus" and "expendable" out of sight to live or die as they may in the police-state Bantustans. Death, disease and despair were the result. But the campaign ensured they were located, brought back to mind and that the regime was subject to surveillance and sanctions. Desmond's work triggered widespread publicity which was particularly effective in electronic media. The film Last Grave in Dimbaza which carried the graphic detail of degradation and death of sites around the country caused an international outcry and provided the evidence of such inhuman acts of systematic oppression.
This necessary documentation was critical to the United Nations presenting the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid for adoption in 1973. The crime of apartheid was defined as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them". Forced removals to compress people into racial categories was a unique feature of the system. The timing of the declaration links closely to the exposure of forced removals.
Desmond's work would later be taken up in a series of studies in the Report of the Surplus People's Project which provided an extended review and fresh detail into the 1980s. At his 70th birthday party I approached Cos Desmond and said he must record what he could about his life experience in writing the Discarded People. He laughed wryly at the idea of an autobiography and gave me a maybe ... he might just turn his mind to chronicling his work but he wasn't so sure of its significance. Was his life and contribution really so important?
Rewards
Anti-apartheid combatants have been rewarded but also diminished by the ending of apartheid. The reward was the freeing of our people from the bondage of apartheid, but they have also been diminished by the trivialisation of great work of resistance in words and deeds and the careless dealing with crimes against humanity. The concluding scene in Last Grave in Dimbaza is of row after row of the graves of children who died after this dumping. As one of a group of students in discussion after film audition of in 1973 which was inspired by Desmond's work we resolved that a version of the Nuremburg Trial would have to be held in the post-apartheid era. That was not to be.
To my knowledge none of the bureaucrats of death were named and shamed. Now Dimbaza is a township on far-flung hills about 66km outside of East London. This name and even that of Limehill has lost its sting. South Africa has grown and these areas are now integrated into the road system and have their local municipalities. The memory fades. What was all the fuss about? This diminution of these historic crimes and the slow pace of genuine transformation had its effect on Cos Desmond, his work and his feeling of self-worth. He had often had to stand alone not only by the action of the regime but also by the priests in the Bantustans who found his research inconvenient and irritating and the shying away of the Catholic Church (with the notable exception of Archbishop Hurley).
His friendship with members of Black Consciousness (he enjoyed the ready open respect of Steve Biko and other BC leaders) did not serve favour with the Congress Movement and the ANC. In the new South Africa he was further diminished along with the lighter weighting of the crimes he chronicled. Cosmas never stood on his dignity or pronounced on his worth. His references to himself were often diffident, self deprecatory and ironic. Recently I was intrigued to hear that Van Gogh wrote that he knew he was regarded by society as a non-entity, an eccentric and a curiosity. He responded, "All right, then ... I should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart." This was not quite Cos who was loved and held in high regard by the circle he cared for but there is a certain line in parallel.
He criticised the compromises and social degradation in the country of his adoption as only one who loved it so deeply would do. Despite the black majority gaining electoral power, the long standing effects of forced removal policy remain and perpetuate the gaping and widening inequality in income, wealth and land characteristic of our society. What happened to the crime of inhumanity declared in response to these forced removals and the promise of redistribution? History will revise judgment of the life and worth of Cosmas Desmond.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Showing posts with label Ladysmith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ladysmith. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Land fraudsters charged
LADYSMITH businessman Roshen Sewpersad (39) has been charged with fraud relating to land claims. He was granted R50 000 bail by the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court on the day of his arrest last Thursday. His co-accused are officials of the Rural Development and Land Reform Department, Promise Makhanya (41), Bhekumuzi Masoka (45) and Sbusiso Chapi (38). They were each granted R20 000 bail.
The four were charged with tricking labour tenants into signing forms without knowing what they were for. This follows last year’s move by the Asset Forfeiture Unit to put Sewpersad’s six farms under curatorship following allegations that he had colluded with his co-accused to gain the farms fraudulently.
The Witness was told that Sewpersdad arrived at the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court in a wheelchair on Thursday. His legal representative, Viren Naidoo, said his client had back problems and had to be rushed to hospital. Sewpersad has been under investigation for his alleged involvement in fraudulently acquiring six farms. An affidavit by the crime investigating unit states that the Elandsjagt Billygreen Ranches were bought for labour tenants by the provincial government in early 2001 for more than R36 million, The Witness reported last year.
Between 1999 and 2000 the tenants allegedly filed an application for ownership with the Rural Development and Land Reform Department under the government’s land restitution and redistribution policy. The farms, situated in the Elandslaagte area near Ladysmith, were consolidated and a legal entity, Abrina 6822, was set up to take transfer. The labour tenant claimants were excluded.
In March 2010 the department opened a criminal docket with the commercial crimes unit. The investigations revealed that no trust or association was formed on behalf of the beneficiaries and they were not aware they owned the farms. Sewpersad’s name never appeared in the original agreement of purchase and sale as a beneficiary. The affidavit states that it appeared the compilation of the list of beneficiaries and the transfer of the farms were fraudulent. Naidoo, who also represents Makhanya and Masoka, would not comment at the time as he had not received police dockets to study the charges against his clients.
Acting regional head for the Asset Forfeiture Unit, Knorx Molelle, has said the KZN government has lost land to the value of R800 million to fraudsters who claim to represent the tenants.
The case has been adjourned to May 3.
Source: Witness
The four were charged with tricking labour tenants into signing forms without knowing what they were for. This follows last year’s move by the Asset Forfeiture Unit to put Sewpersad’s six farms under curatorship following allegations that he had colluded with his co-accused to gain the farms fraudulently.
The Witness was told that Sewpersdad arrived at the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court in a wheelchair on Thursday. His legal representative, Viren Naidoo, said his client had back problems and had to be rushed to hospital. Sewpersad has been under investigation for his alleged involvement in fraudulently acquiring six farms. An affidavit by the crime investigating unit states that the Elandsjagt Billygreen Ranches were bought for labour tenants by the provincial government in early 2001 for more than R36 million, The Witness reported last year.
Between 1999 and 2000 the tenants allegedly filed an application for ownership with the Rural Development and Land Reform Department under the government’s land restitution and redistribution policy. The farms, situated in the Elandslaagte area near Ladysmith, were consolidated and a legal entity, Abrina 6822, was set up to take transfer. The labour tenant claimants were excluded.
In March 2010 the department opened a criminal docket with the commercial crimes unit. The investigations revealed that no trust or association was formed on behalf of the beneficiaries and they were not aware they owned the farms. Sewpersad’s name never appeared in the original agreement of purchase and sale as a beneficiary. The affidavit states that it appeared the compilation of the list of beneficiaries and the transfer of the farms were fraudulent. Naidoo, who also represents Makhanya and Masoka, would not comment at the time as he had not received police dockets to study the charges against his clients.
Acting regional head for the Asset Forfeiture Unit, Knorx Molelle, has said the KZN government has lost land to the value of R800 million to fraudsters who claim to represent the tenants.
The case has been adjourned to May 3.
Source: Witness
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ladysmith Land
At the beginning of last year a multi-million rand property transaction was finalised in Ladysmith. The land that was sold stretches from KwaZulu-Natal to the Free State and the owner lived in this farmhouse. Eight farms were included in the deal. They were bought as a going concern, which included the cattle and the farm implements, as well as this lavish mansion and all its household content.
The mahogany staircase, the Persian carpets, professionally decorated bedrooms and luxurious kitchen fit the lifestyle of the very rich. There's even a home theatre for those rainy days in the countryside. About three kilometres away, two families live in abject poverty. They are meant to be the owners of the mansion and the 4000 hectares that surround it. Instead, Nalid Mabaso shares this dwelling [on screen] with his extended family. There's no running water or electricity, and even if there was, nobody living here has the money to pay for it. 63-year-old Nalid hasn't worked since November last year and they survive on R1 000 a month, provided by his sons.
Nalid Mabaso: 'They have stopped the transport to work and it's too far to walk there.'
On the other side of the fence lives Agrippa Mtshali with his wife and their children. Apart from these chickens, some goats and a few head of cattle, they own very little. The old farmhouse they live in was once well equipped but, without running water and electricity, it has long lost its charm. Agrippa's wife says the only benefit of living here is that it's near the school bus stop.
The KwaZulu-Natal Rural Development and Land Affairs Department facilitated the sale in terms of the Land Reform Act 3 of 1996. To finance the deal, the department used the rights of so-called 'labour tenants', like the Mabasos and Mtshalis, as motivation to obtain government grants - not only for them, but for a total of 42 people who claimed to have ties with these farms.
Chantal Rutter (Carte Blanche presenter): 'To put it simply, it means that there needs to be enough people to qualify as shareholders in order to pay for the farm. And in this case it came to a whopping R36-million.'
But it seems someone forgot to tell the two families about their newly acquired wealth and property.
Nalid: 'Honestly, I don't know anything about it.'
Details of the deal are contained in this document [on screen], which names Agrippa and Nalid, as well as a third person, Philemon Mtshali, as the original applicants in the Labour Tenant claim. But the Mabasos and Mtshalis recognised very few of the other names, even though the beneficiaries were supposed to be family members and co-workers. What they do know is that two years ago, about eight people, who then lived and worked on the farms, were called to Ladysmith for a meeting with the local Department of Land Affairs. A senior official in the Ladysmith office, Sbu Chapi, addressed the meeting.
Chantal: 'He said the department is going to buy them a farm and all they had to do was bring in their IDs and the IDs of all their relatives.'
The Mabasos and Mtshalis refused to do this, yet curiously dozens of names, complete with ID numbers, somehow made the list. So what was the plan?
Chantal: 'Specific reference is made in the documents that the beneficiaries would get a strategic partner who would help with the commercial operation of the farm. Surprisingly this partner is not a farmer but a well-known family that runs a string of businesses and has properties in the town of Ladysmith.'
They are the Sewparsads, Father Ammachand, sometimes known as Billy Green, his daughter-in-law Naresha, and her husband Roshen.
[On screen]: 'Broker Sentenced' (Ladysmith Gazette)
Roshen is a convicted fraudster and gold smuggler who has avoided time in prison by doing a thousand hours of community service and paying fines amounting to R200 000. The Sewparsads refused to be interviewed on camera, but Roshen spoke to us on the phone.
[On phone] Roshen Sewparsad: 'If you have it in writing, give it to me. I'm saying to you I'm not willing to participate.'
Alf Lees has been investigating the deal for the past year. He's a member of parliament who lives in Ladysmith and is involved in the farming community.
Chantal: 'In terms of the Land Reform Act, how would you define the beneficiaries who are land tenants?'
Alf Lees (Member of Parliament - DA): 'Obviously if you are going to be a labour tenant you have got to be a resident on the land, and then you have to establish a labour tenant relationship with the owner. So you have to, at some stage, give employment in return for the land.'
Chantal: 'Now, in terms of that, how would you define a strategic partner?'
Alf: 'Strategic partner is a concept that is coming out of the need to ensure that land is sustainable once it's been handed over to the claimants. And so there is nothing sinister about a strategic partner. It is the relationship between that strategic partner and the beneficiaries which can be problematic.'
Alf has established that the department paid R22-million for the eight farms and that another R14-million was earmarked for moveable assets and further development. To his astonishment, he also found that a company called ABRINA 6822 LTD held the title deeds for the eight farms and that Roshen and Naresha Sewparsad were the only directors. No mention of the Mabasos and Mtshalis... nor of any [of the] other beneficiaries.
Alf: 'It would appear that the beneficiaries are not in fact aware that they are beneficiaries, and they are now becoming aware of it, and they are asking questions.'
... and so did we.
Interestingly, Roshen then suddenly resigned as a director of the company. We were also interested to hear what the Department of Land Affairs in Ladysmith had to say. The official currently in charge of the project is Patrick Masoka, but he referred us to office manager, Promise Makhanya.
She in turn referred us to Sbu Chapi, who had originally coordinated the deal.
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'How did you source the strategic partner?'
[Hidden camera] Sbu Chapi: 'That is what I am saying... I was not involved in the actual project.'
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'The document shows that you were actually involved in presenting those strategic partners.'
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'No, not the strategic partners. I presented it because it was a labour tenant claim, but after that...'
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'So you did present it?'
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'I did present it - initially it was without the strategic partners.'
When pressed for answers about the ghost beneficiaries, Sbu showed us the door.
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'No, you are not getting me. I am saying I have nothing to say now. Put it in writing.'
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'So you are not going to make any comments at all about this?'
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'No, I am not.'
And off he went in his fancy car with personalised number plates.And the Sewparsads, who own this Auto Zone branch in Ladysmith, eventually answered our questions through their lawyer.And that's when the case became really confusing. They deny that the deal was a Labour Tenant claim, despite official departmental documents indicating that it was.
[Lawyer's letter] 'There was no involvement with any claim by Labour Tenants. The properties were for sale and ABRINA 6822 LTD approached the sellers to acquire it and secured funding from the Department of Land Affairs.'
[Lawyer's letter] 'In return the purchaser undertook to uplift the skills of the residents on the farms.'
[Lawyer's letter] 'There was no mention made of any strategic partner. That was never a term or condition of the sale or requirement for the provision of funding.'
In another puzzling revelation, the Sewparsads state that their Family Trust is the only shareholder of ABRINA 6822 LTD and that the company is indeed the legal owner of the eight farms, now called Billy Green Ranches. But not according to Mdu Shabane, Deputy Director General of Land Reform.
Mdu Shabane (Deputy Director General Land Reform - Dept of Rural Development & Land Affairs): 'Legally land reform beneficiaries, for whom the amount of money was approved, should be the beneficiaries. But unfortunately we have discovered, since your investigation, that the land was not transferred to them, but rather to another company with a similar name. From our point of view the transaction is fraudulent. The current owners in whose name the land is now registered should not be the owners because they were never the beneficiaries of the project.'
The Sewparsads, who apparently use the luxury farmhouse as a weekend retreat, say the household contents were not part of the sale. But we have a list of furniture that was included in the deal.
Mdu: 'As far as we are concerned, all those things are illegal, because the person who lives in that house has got no business to be on that farm.' And allegations are mounting. We obtained this invoice showing that income made from grass harvested on the farm was deposited into the Sewparsad's Auto Zone business account and not into the farm's account.
Mdu: 'Just last week, the person who lives in the house was trying to remove livestock from the farm. And our office had to send the police to stop him.'
The department has since asked the Provincial Commissioner of Police in KwaZulu-Natal for help and he has assigned the Hawks to the case.
Mdu: 'Once they have got the information and the evidence is clear, then the Hawks will work together with the asset forfeiture unit.'
One of the many documents the department's head office has since obtained was signed with a cross, allegedly by Nalid Mabaso.
Mdu: 'I doubt that he was capable of negotiating such a transaction. As a matter of fact, they don't even know that they own the land. So, my view is that they were duped by somebody colluding with others. I suspect that there is a whole range of people in the whole value chain that had a hand in making sure that this transaction ends up in the manner that it has.'
Patrick Masoka, Promise Makhanya and Sbu Chapi, the three Land Affairs officials at the Ladysmith office, have been suspended as a result of this Carte Blanche investigation.
Source: Carte Blanche
The mahogany staircase, the Persian carpets, professionally decorated bedrooms and luxurious kitchen fit the lifestyle of the very rich. There's even a home theatre for those rainy days in the countryside. About three kilometres away, two families live in abject poverty. They are meant to be the owners of the mansion and the 4000 hectares that surround it. Instead, Nalid Mabaso shares this dwelling [on screen] with his extended family. There's no running water or electricity, and even if there was, nobody living here has the money to pay for it. 63-year-old Nalid hasn't worked since November last year and they survive on R1 000 a month, provided by his sons.
Nalid Mabaso: 'They have stopped the transport to work and it's too far to walk there.'
On the other side of the fence lives Agrippa Mtshali with his wife and their children. Apart from these chickens, some goats and a few head of cattle, they own very little. The old farmhouse they live in was once well equipped but, without running water and electricity, it has long lost its charm. Agrippa's wife says the only benefit of living here is that it's near the school bus stop.
The KwaZulu-Natal Rural Development and Land Affairs Department facilitated the sale in terms of the Land Reform Act 3 of 1996. To finance the deal, the department used the rights of so-called 'labour tenants', like the Mabasos and Mtshalis, as motivation to obtain government grants - not only for them, but for a total of 42 people who claimed to have ties with these farms.
Chantal Rutter (Carte Blanche presenter): 'To put it simply, it means that there needs to be enough people to qualify as shareholders in order to pay for the farm. And in this case it came to a whopping R36-million.'
But it seems someone forgot to tell the two families about their newly acquired wealth and property.
Nalid: 'Honestly, I don't know anything about it.'
Details of the deal are contained in this document [on screen], which names Agrippa and Nalid, as well as a third person, Philemon Mtshali, as the original applicants in the Labour Tenant claim. But the Mabasos and Mtshalis recognised very few of the other names, even though the beneficiaries were supposed to be family members and co-workers. What they do know is that two years ago, about eight people, who then lived and worked on the farms, were called to Ladysmith for a meeting with the local Department of Land Affairs. A senior official in the Ladysmith office, Sbu Chapi, addressed the meeting.
Chantal: 'He said the department is going to buy them a farm and all they had to do was bring in their IDs and the IDs of all their relatives.'
The Mabasos and Mtshalis refused to do this, yet curiously dozens of names, complete with ID numbers, somehow made the list. So what was the plan?
Chantal: 'Specific reference is made in the documents that the beneficiaries would get a strategic partner who would help with the commercial operation of the farm. Surprisingly this partner is not a farmer but a well-known family that runs a string of businesses and has properties in the town of Ladysmith.'
They are the Sewparsads, Father Ammachand, sometimes known as Billy Green, his daughter-in-law Naresha, and her husband Roshen.
[On screen]: 'Broker Sentenced' (Ladysmith Gazette)
Roshen is a convicted fraudster and gold smuggler who has avoided time in prison by doing a thousand hours of community service and paying fines amounting to R200 000. The Sewparsads refused to be interviewed on camera, but Roshen spoke to us on the phone.
[On phone] Roshen Sewparsad: 'If you have it in writing, give it to me. I'm saying to you I'm not willing to participate.'
Alf Lees has been investigating the deal for the past year. He's a member of parliament who lives in Ladysmith and is involved in the farming community.
Chantal: 'In terms of the Land Reform Act, how would you define the beneficiaries who are land tenants?'
Alf Lees (Member of Parliament - DA): 'Obviously if you are going to be a labour tenant you have got to be a resident on the land, and then you have to establish a labour tenant relationship with the owner. So you have to, at some stage, give employment in return for the land.'
Chantal: 'Now, in terms of that, how would you define a strategic partner?'
Alf: 'Strategic partner is a concept that is coming out of the need to ensure that land is sustainable once it's been handed over to the claimants. And so there is nothing sinister about a strategic partner. It is the relationship between that strategic partner and the beneficiaries which can be problematic.'
Alf has established that the department paid R22-million for the eight farms and that another R14-million was earmarked for moveable assets and further development. To his astonishment, he also found that a company called ABRINA 6822 LTD held the title deeds for the eight farms and that Roshen and Naresha Sewparsad were the only directors. No mention of the Mabasos and Mtshalis... nor of any [of the] other beneficiaries.
Alf: 'It would appear that the beneficiaries are not in fact aware that they are beneficiaries, and they are now becoming aware of it, and they are asking questions.'
... and so did we.
Interestingly, Roshen then suddenly resigned as a director of the company. We were also interested to hear what the Department of Land Affairs in Ladysmith had to say. The official currently in charge of the project is Patrick Masoka, but he referred us to office manager, Promise Makhanya.
She in turn referred us to Sbu Chapi, who had originally coordinated the deal.
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'How did you source the strategic partner?'
[Hidden camera] Sbu Chapi: 'That is what I am saying... I was not involved in the actual project.'
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'The document shows that you were actually involved in presenting those strategic partners.'
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'No, not the strategic partners. I presented it because it was a labour tenant claim, but after that...'
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'So you did present it?'
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'I did present it - initially it was without the strategic partners.'
When pressed for answers about the ghost beneficiaries, Sbu showed us the door.
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'No, you are not getting me. I am saying I have nothing to say now. Put it in writing.'
[Hidden camera] Chantal: 'So you are not going to make any comments at all about this?'
[Hidden camera] Sbu: 'No, I am not.'
And off he went in his fancy car with personalised number plates.And the Sewparsads, who own this Auto Zone branch in Ladysmith, eventually answered our questions through their lawyer.And that's when the case became really confusing. They deny that the deal was a Labour Tenant claim, despite official departmental documents indicating that it was.
[Lawyer's letter] 'There was no involvement with any claim by Labour Tenants. The properties were for sale and ABRINA 6822 LTD approached the sellers to acquire it and secured funding from the Department of Land Affairs.'
[Lawyer's letter] 'In return the purchaser undertook to uplift the skills of the residents on the farms.'
[Lawyer's letter] 'There was no mention made of any strategic partner. That was never a term or condition of the sale or requirement for the provision of funding.'
In another puzzling revelation, the Sewparsads state that their Family Trust is the only shareholder of ABRINA 6822 LTD and that the company is indeed the legal owner of the eight farms, now called Billy Green Ranches. But not according to Mdu Shabane, Deputy Director General of Land Reform.
Mdu Shabane (Deputy Director General Land Reform - Dept of Rural Development & Land Affairs): 'Legally land reform beneficiaries, for whom the amount of money was approved, should be the beneficiaries. But unfortunately we have discovered, since your investigation, that the land was not transferred to them, but rather to another company with a similar name. From our point of view the transaction is fraudulent. The current owners in whose name the land is now registered should not be the owners because they were never the beneficiaries of the project.'
The Sewparsads, who apparently use the luxury farmhouse as a weekend retreat, say the household contents were not part of the sale. But we have a list of furniture that was included in the deal.
Mdu: 'As far as we are concerned, all those things are illegal, because the person who lives in that house has got no business to be on that farm.' And allegations are mounting. We obtained this invoice showing that income made from grass harvested on the farm was deposited into the Sewparsad's Auto Zone business account and not into the farm's account.
Mdu: 'Just last week, the person who lives in the house was trying to remove livestock from the farm. And our office had to send the police to stop him.'
The department has since asked the Provincial Commissioner of Police in KwaZulu-Natal for help and he has assigned the Hawks to the case.
Mdu: 'Once they have got the information and the evidence is clear, then the Hawks will work together with the asset forfeiture unit.'
One of the many documents the department's head office has since obtained was signed with a cross, allegedly by Nalid Mabaso.
Mdu: 'I doubt that he was capable of negotiating such a transaction. As a matter of fact, they don't even know that they own the land. So, my view is that they were duped by somebody colluding with others. I suspect that there is a whole range of people in the whole value chain that had a hand in making sure that this transaction ends up in the manner that it has.'
Patrick Masoka, Promise Makhanya and Sbu Chapi, the three Land Affairs officials at the Ladysmith office, have been suspended as a result of this Carte Blanche investigation.
Source: Carte Blanche
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