Land invasion has become a source of concern for residents of Durban’s Sydenham and Sherwood areas, with locals reporting that sheets of corrugated iron were removed from a vacant plot on Sunday.
Residents are concerned that these actions threaten the peace and tranquillity of their neighbourhoods.
Vacant pockets of land, which have become green spaces, have been under attack from land invaders for more than a year on Loon Road, Crouch Road, Candela Road, Locksley Drive, Piedmont Road, and, recently, a space known as the “nursery” along King Cetshwayo Highway, formerly known as Jan Smuts Highway.
Fearing invasion, residents plan to meet at the nursery on Saturday to devise an anti-invasion plan. They were concerned that this invasion could lead to more serious consequences for the Sherwood Community.
The invasions have become so serious that a WhatsApp group for the area has been created to inform, create awareness, report it to authorities, and unite residents
The eThekwini Municipality has already recorded more than 600 informal settlements, and land invaders have built more than 600 houses on Blinkbonnie Road in Bonela without building plans.
Residents of Sherwood have been monitoring the nursery area after groups of people were seen walking into the bushes and chopping down bamboo trees. The Durban metro police removed a pile of trees on Sunday from the pavement.
One group member, who wished to remain anonymous, advised that in the run-up to the Local Government Elections in November 2026, organised groups are attempting to steal land, hoping to gain support from political groups for electioneering.
“There is an attempt to change the voter profile and support base in municipal wards 30 and 31. Residents must stand united to stop this. Every single resident has to get involved,” he said.
Recently, residents of the Piedmont area were grappling with the expansion of a shack settlement encroaching on their properties.
A resident of Piedmont said the legal rate-paying residents contacted the Land Invasion Unit (LIU), and the LIU would demolish the shacks.
But after a meeting with the illegal invaders, on two occasions, petrol bombs were thrown at rate-paying residents’ doorsteps during the early hours of the morning, causing damage to a private property.
Warren Burne, eThekwini Ward 30 councillor, said the land inspection on Saturday will give residents an understanding of what is happening on the ground.
Burne said he emailed municipal officials about the problem and was awaiting feedback.
“The metro police officers also walked through the land and removed about 32 sheets of corrugated iron, which was clearly intended to be used to erect shacks on the property. The interest shown by some individuals in occupying the land raises concerns. I hope the municipality will take the threat seriously.”
In February 2026, the LIU strategy, plan, and challenges were presented to the Executive Committee. The unit explained that the current staff complement of 70 personnel was deemed insufficient to monitor, prevent, and respond to land invasion activities occurring almost hourly across all regions of the municipality.
In the interim, a short-term capacity intervention in anticipation of land invasion risks during the upcoming election period necessitated capacity support.
Through the learnership programme, the LIU employed 88 learners to augment operational capacity.
However, the unit required a training budget of R3 million for additional tactical training to enable learners to effectively support land invasion operations under supervision.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za
