By Asisipho Khetshemiya

Residents of Nombanjana village in Centane are cautiously optimistic about the court outcome after the Land Claims Court ordered the government to pay the 1998 betterment claims first and to complete them before the 2014 claims. The court gave the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development and the Chief Land Claims Commissioner eight years to process, investigate and settle the 495 betterment claims. The Nombanjana claims are among the 495 outstanding claims lodged before 31 December 1998 that remain unpaid.
The community claims they were removed from their land in the 1960s for a development. They lodged a land claim with the Land Affairs office in East London and waited 13 years for compensation.
According to community leaders, only a few households received payment, while many others were never paid because the company responsible for registration had disappeared.

The families who were not paid were told their claims had been incorrectly registered because they had been submitted on their parents’ behalf rather than in their own names, even though they had the right to claim for themselves. The non-payment has badly affected some families, creating tension and mistrust among conflict families, with some alleging that the money was actually paid and that recipients did not disclose it to others.

The residents formed a committee to lodge a complaint regarding the families’ non-payment. The committee reported that the office had moved beyond the 1998 claim and was dealing with 2014 claims. At that point, the community sought assistance from Vulamasango Singene, who took the case to court.

The organisation took the matter to court, and the case proceeded to judgment, at which point the court passed an order on 18 August 2026.