Alleged fraudulent land claims halted by High Court
According to a report in The Mercury, the Durban High Court judge has stopped payment of hundreds of land claims after hearing allegations that they were fraudulent and some had been lodged by employees or relatives of employees of the Land Claims Commission in KwaZulu-Natal.
In an urgent application before Judge Pete Combrinck, the Hlanganani Newlands Residents Association secured an interdict against the Commission, preventing it from paying out any more land claims in the Newlands area. The Commission will have to satisfy the court that the claims are legitimate before it can continue making payments. It has until March 17 to give reasons why the order should not be made final. Full report in The Mercury