King Moloi and municipality in land war amid ANC leadership challenge

Court order applied to evict him and co from a piece of land

- By Setumo Stone

A legal dispute has erupted in the Free State High Court between the Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality and the Bakholokoe kingdom over the occupation and use of municipal land in Harrismith.

The case, which pits the municipality against King Letsitsa Moloi and other respondents, comes on the back of the traditional leaders' failed court challenge recently in the same Bloemfontein High Court, seeking to strip the ANC's top seven leaders, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, of their powers as office bearers of the party's national executive committee.

At the heart of both matters is a broader conflict over the restoration of land, the role of traditional authorities, and the ANC's adherence to constitutional and historical obligations.

In an apparent pushback, the municipality alleges that the kingdom and its corespondents have unlawfully occupied and sold portions of the municipal land, claiming that such actions are criminal and detrimental to the community.