TWO families slept under trees after their homes were demolished in the presence of the police.
Nkhululeko Magagula, a Headman, said over 10 people were left homeless following the demolition that was carried out on Wednesday.
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The two families belong to the farming area of KaMbhoke, which is located in the southern part of the kingdom, around the Kubuta precinct.A devastated Magagula alleged that a contingent of police who accompanied the TLB which razed down the homes came to the area at around 11am, and beat him up before knocking down structures in two separate homes.
He said his only sin was taking pictures using his cellphone.
It remains unknown why the homes were demolished, but it was alleged that a court order in this regard was being enforced. Magagula said the demolition went ahead despite pleas from sympathetic residents. He mentioned that the TLB took about four hours knocking down houses, which were reduced to rubble in front of traumatised victims.
Residents who rushed to the place could do nothing but watch helplessly as the homes were being brought down in the operation that was supervised by armed police.
It was alleged that the person at the centre of the demolition was enforcing a court order to flush out the families from the land, which they had all along regarded as their ancestral land. The families were allegedly told that their homes were built on private property.
The affected family members had no other alternative but to spend the night in the open, as they had nowhere to go. The victims said they would continue living under trees until they get alternative land.
Magagula could not hold back tears while narrating how a contingent of police rained batons on him, beating him up randomly, when he tried to intervene. He was overwhelmed by emotion over the plight that befell the families.
“This is a serious issue, the families have nowhere to go,” he lamented. Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent Nosipho Mnguni confirmed the incident.
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