Mpumalanga family evicted after seven-year land battle with mine

After seven years of legal battles with Mafube Coal, the Buta family has been removed from their homestead on Nooitgedacht farm near Middelburg, the family and the mine say. A Land Court eviction order issued in January authorised the relocation and a sheriff accompanied by police carried out the eviction, the family said.

How the dispute began

The dispute began about eight years ago when Mafube Coal bought the Nooitgedacht farm. The company and the Buta family engaged in a prolonged legal process that led to a Land Court order on 26 January directing the family to vacate their homestead to allow mining activities to proceed.

Court order and relocation details

Acting Judge Tanya Brenner issued orders including that the Buta family vacate the homestead known as the remaining extent of portion 4 of Farm Nooitgedacht 417 JS within 60 calendar days from service of the order and relocate to alternative accommodation at Sikhululiwe village, built by the applicant for the family.

The court directed Mafube to facilitate the relocation and to cover reasonable expenses incurred. The family was instructed to demolish structures and harvest any standing crops at the homestead. In October last year the court granted Mafube permission to exhume graves of relatives buried on the land.

Family says eviction was forceful and damaging

Family spokesperson Rose Buta said the family was “forcefully relocated to Sikhululiwe village, about 20km away, a few days ago.” She described the alternative housing provided and the impact on the family’s living conditions and livelihood.

“We are not happy about what happened. The law in this country favours those with money. My family was relocated to two houses with three bedrooms each. At home we had a house comprising more than 10 rooms and we also had small housing structures and shacks in the yard.”

Buta said that when the sheriff and police arrived they removed furniture and began demolishing the house and other structures, and that some belongings were destroyed by an excavator. She said 33 cattle were relocated to the yard where the family were moved. She also said the family previously had water in the yard and a decent toilet but now must use communal taps and a bucket latrine.

The family also said they were not given the opportunity to participate in the court hearing, saying they were told to attend in Randburg but were later told the matter would be held online and they did not receive a link to the proceedings.

Mafube Coal response

Mafube Coal confirmed the relocation had begun, saying it followed an order granted by the Land Court on 26 January and seven years of engagement.

“To ensure the family’s longterm security of tenure, Mafube Coal has provided alternative housing at Sam Rose Valley and Sikhululiwe Village. The mine remains fully committed to provide comprehensive transitional support to the family to help restore and sustain their livelihoods.”

Wider concerns raised by advocacy group

Mining Affected Communities United in Action national coordinator Sabelo Mnguni commented on the eviction as part of broader issues faced by communities affected by mining expansion.

“Relocating farming families to small village houses without land for livestock or production is not development, it is dispossession,” Mnguni said.

The case marks the end of a multi-year legal battle over the Nooitgedacht farm and the expansion of mining activities in the area.