About a dozen people have been arrested following a large scale land invasion that commenced on Monday, 18 September 2000 in Cato Crest in the area south and west of the reservoir site. Some pockets of land belonging to the University of Natal were also being targeted for invasion.

The Metro Land Invasion Control Unit managed to disperse approximately 50 people on 18 September and another 150 people on 19 September. Various bush clearing implements were confiscated and handed over to the SA Police Services.

The land was invaded mainly by people who claim to have been left homeless when their landlords in Cato Crest relocated to the Cato Crest Greenfields housing development.

One of the conditions of relocating to a new housing unit is that beneficiaries have to demolish the structures that they are evacuating so that the infrastructure and the roadworks can commence. Their former tenants cannot be accommodated in their new formal houses because they are smaller.

It is believed that some of the invaders may also have come from Dunbar Road, and some were also possibly involved in the recent invasion of vacant land west of Grosvenor Road.

IZWI reporter Mazwi Ngcobo spoke to some of the cutlass-wielding invaders: “We have been left out in the cold by the landlords. We have nowhere to go. So the bush is the only way open to us. The landlords have packed off to the Greenfields. Some of us are still paying rent in the structures that are marked for demolition. Time is running out,” said one. “We have every right to a decent house as are the landlords. The committees and the councillors are not prepared to discuss our future in their meetings yet we vote for them,” said another.

Chesterville councillor Sibusiso Gumede was called in to address the invaders: “The invasion of land will not be tolerated and as such all necessary precautions will be taken to deter land invasions. As much as the tenants’ case is understandable, people must still follow protocol and procedure so that their grievances are considered and amicable solutions are found,” he said.

A five-member delegation was formed to liaise with the CMDA and the Metro’s Land and Housing Committee, which will decide the fate of the land invaders.

Mystery surrounds death of popular Cato Manor resident

Circumstances surrounding Chesterville resident Howard Mbotho’s death are mysterious, if not baffling, to say the least. Everyone who narrates the story of his death still can’t believe that he has left this world. Some people are calling it suicide. Others are not so sure. Strange stories have been rife in the township about people who are commanded by unseen voices to wreak havoc.

On Saturday 9th September, Howard apparently returned to his rented apartment in Chesterville with his usual zest for life. Those who saw him getting out of the taxi swear that he was a bit tipsy. He was not alone. He was with a friend whom he had asked to sit and wait outside while he fetched something from inside his apartment.

Approximately five minutes later Howard lay dead on the floor. His body was burnt beyond recognition. The friend who waited for him outside did not hear him scream, nor did he hear any sounds of struggle. Besides, the front door was locked and no sign of a break-in was evident.

In the pandemonium that ensued after his charred body was discovered by his friend, someone remembered that Howard used a paraffin stove to cook his meals. Strangely, his stove was still full of paraffin. But there were indications that the fire that killed him started inside his bedroom, though his stove had not been lit.

“The curtains and part of his wardrobe together with his bed were destroyed in the fire,” says a stressed landlord who had lost furniture in the fire.

The incident has left Howard’s next of kin baffled. His girlfriend, whom he had promised to phone as soon as he got to Chesterville that day, is distraught. “There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary when we parted that morning. We are still not sure what drove him to commit suicide. As far as we are aware he was not under any voodoo spell,” she said.