26 Feb 2024

The land fracas at Mogoditshane Sub-land Board involving some employees in the ministry of Lands and Water Affairs is far from over due its complexities.

The land fiasco implicated about 34 employees in the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs, who were implicated in the fraudulent acquisition of about 800 plots.

Kweneng Land Board (KLB) chairperson Mr Kgang Kgang revealed this recently when updating the media about the land scandal at Mogoditshane Sub-land Board.

Mr Kgang explained that the matter was far from over as it was now an ongoing process involving lengthy consultations with those involved.

He said out of the 34 employees implicated, two won their cases at the Court of Appeal while only one employee was reinstated.

Mr Kgang acknowledged that Mogoditshane Sub-land Board at the time took an illegal decision to implement the compensation-in-kind model, which was not in accordance with provisions of the new Tribal Land Act.

“We have to condemn such an act in its strongest possible terms as it was against the law,” Mr Kgang said.

He further said after the land board consulted affected communities in villages in the vicinity of the city, and most residents advised them to return the land to title holders while some requested them to temper with mercy.

 As a result, he said, Mogoditshane Sub-land Board claimed back about 1 000 hectares of land in which about 200 ploughing fields were affected.

He also explained that after KLB was given a legal opinion which termed the whole process illegal, they consulted further on what remedial action should be taken as there were cost implications.

He said the land board was advised to consult with all people involved including third parties and a decision was reached to return the land to original owners. 

Mr Kgang explained that  consultations were ongoing as about 50 people out of the 200 were yet to turn up for consultations while a few had approached the courts.

Mr Kgang was hopeful that by June/July  they would have closed the matter.

Mr Kealeboga Motsamai a third party victim, said in an interview that he lost P250 000 when he unknowingly bought a plot from one of the people implicated in the land fiasco and he was given a fake certificate for the said plot.

 Mr Motsamai and three other victims are currently seeking intervention from Kweneng Land Board. Ends