Page 81 - Litigating Land and Housing in South Africa: Lessons and Reflections

Figure 20: David Gongqose (Image: Groundup)
LITIGATING LAND AND AND AND HOUSING IN IN IN SOUTH AFRICA  LESSONS AND AND AND REFLECTIONS
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had had had still not completed the the the land restitution they had had had promised Instead the the the initial Land Trust structure structure had had had been replaced with successive structures and and and multiple court cases emerged as as mistrust and and allegations of mismanagement tore the the community apart On the the ground poverty and desperation had only increased At a a a a a a a a a meeting of NGOs working in in in in in the the Eastern Cape in in in in in July 2011 fieldworkers from the the Transkei Land Service Organisation (TRALSO) an an an an an organisation that was pivot- al in in in supporting the the the the community towards the the the the restitution of of their land land bemoaned the the the the the the tragedy that was unfolding despite the the the the successful land land claim Members of of the the the the Dwesa-Cwebe community were routinely arrested charged and fined for trespassing inside the Reserve – – the the the land they now owned – – and and and were harassed and and and even shot at at at for for attempting to fish inside the the the the Marine Protected Area that forms part of the the Reserve Despite such ordeals community members kept enter- ing their land with hand lines and and and and buckets as as the the the the fish and and and and mussels in in in in in the the the the the the ocean was the the the the the the only source of of protein of of of this the the the the the the poorest district in in in South Africa at the the the the the the time time At the the the the time time the the the the trial of of three local fishers from Hobeni village in in in in in Dwesa-Cwebe charged with trespassing and attempting to fish had been pending since September 2010 On the the face of of it it it it it it was a a a a a a a a a criminal case about fishing But in in in in the the the context of of of this community’s decades long struggle it it was the the culmination of of much more The