Exxaro, a mining group, has emerged victorious in a protracted legal battle to evict the Sindane family, who have resided on the land in Mpumalanga for 60 years.
- Exxaro obtained a mining right in 2013 and identified the Sindane family, along with 31 other families, for resettlement due to the potential health and safety risks posed by blasting and mining activities. The company constructed Phumulani Agri-Village as an alternative settlement for the affected families.
- In 2019, most of the families agreed to relocate to Phumulani Agri-Village. However, the Sindane family resisted, citing a pending land claim application under the Labour Tenants Act, which grants labor tenants the right to claim land in exchange for their labor.
- The case has shed light on the challenges faced by labor tenant applicants whose claims are caught up in bureaucratic processes and overshadowed by events such as the granting of mining rights.
- Judge Jane Cowen acknowledged the potential impact of delays in realizing the promise of land justice as enshrined in the constitution, particularly for labor tenants whose land tenure was historically insecure due to discriminatory laws and practices.
- Despite the family’s claims of an unresolved land claim application, the court deemed the resettlement agreement signed by the late Frans Sindane to be valid.
- The court ordered the Sindane family to vacate the property by the end of January 2024. However, the judgment specified that this order does not prejudice any rights the family may have as labor tenants or their pursuit of those rights.