Thornville residents face eviction from illegally built homes on Eskom-owned land

More than 100 residents of Thornville, outside Pietermaritzburg, who ignored warnings not to build homes on Eskom land, are facing eviction and the imminent demolition of their illegally built homes. 

The residents found themselves in trouble after they bought the land from dubious sellers, who had no authority to do so, for between R 5,000 and R15,000 per plot on ERF 67 Thornville - the illegal sale of the land meant that buyers were not issued with any proof of purchase. 

Usually, plots in the nearby village cost up to R100,000, but according to sources, the Eskom land was illegally sold at far below this price, with the illegal sellers hoping that this would make it difficult for Eskom to carry out an eviction process.

When Eskom became aware of plans to build illegal homes on its land, it approached the Pietermaritzburg High Court and on July 14 the court issued an order, instructing the illegal occupants to dismantle their homes within 48 hours of receiving the order. 

On 29 August 2025, the court order, in English and Zulu, was served on those who had invaded or attempted to invade the land and the court directed that, should the occupants fail to follow the order, the sheriff should carry out the eviction. 

The court also directed the Thornville Police Station to assist the sheriff and Eskom during the demolition and eviction.

Eskom’s subsidiary, National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), which is responsible for the land, said it was obliged to safeguard its property and electricity infrastructure.  

“The properties acquired are for strategic future grid expansion projects, and due to the high voltage being transmitted by the transmission lines in the area, it is not safe for residential occupation,” said NTCSA in its response. 

"The court application was launched before the houses were built and the surrounding community was sensitised."

NTCSA said Eskom does not compensate individuals for structures demolished on its property because such structures are unlawful and erected without consent.

“Compensation would contravene public finance and procurement laws, and it would undermine the rule of law and create inequitable precedents,” the NTCSA said.

Eskom said illegal dwellings had also been built on portion 8 and 9 of the Farm Leliefontein in the Zululand District Municipality and that a court order was obtained, and the illegal structures will be demolished before the end of November 2025.

It said a court order was obtained after homes were illegally built on portion 11 and 22 of the Farm Balgowrie in the KZN Midlands and the illegal structures have been demolished.

Sources said there was a total of 150 homes or more that will be flattened-some of the homes are extremely close to a substation while others are situated directly under high-voltage powerlines

The houses have access to piped water and electricity, which appear to have been connected illegally. 

According to Eskom's website, building a house under a powerline could be deadly in case of a fault, caused by bad weather or strong winds, as a pylon could fall on the ground, leading to people beneath being killed by the current.

Eskom's website also warned that building homes under power lines could make it impossible for its technicians to repair an electricity fault. 

According to another source, police were ready to assist with evictions and were only waiting for Eskom to give them a date for the eviction. 

“Irrespective of whether the houses are under the powerlines or not, they are all going to be evicted because they are illegally built on Eskom land. 

“There is a court order, and as soon as Eskom requests police assistance, police will move swiftly,” said the source.

Parts of Thornville have experienced land grabs in the past, with some illegally selling plots to unsuspecting buyers. 

Elderly property owner, Jagath Singh, obtained a Pietermaritzburg High Court order in 2017 to demolish more than 70 houses of supposedly “wealthy homeowners” from his Leliefontein property. 

It remains unclear what happened to that order, but the houses are still on the farm and more are being built. 

Several meetings have been held by the occupants of the Eskom land on ERF 67 Thornville to discuss their plight. 

One resident, who declined to be named, said he was misled by a seller who said there was no problem with the site sold to him. 

The pensioner said he spent more than R600,000 on building materials and labour.

Another buyer, described how he had heard about sites for sale, was directed to a man linked to the selling of plots, who then took him to the site. 

“I was not aware that there was an issue with Eskom,” said the homeowner. 

Another buyer, a pensioner, said he had grown tired of living in a township. 

“All I wanted was to spend my retirement age in a peaceful area far away from the noise and activities. 

“I spent my retirement fund building this house, and eviction would be a catastrophic as I don’t have money to relocate and build another house,” he said.

The illegally occupied Eskom land falls under the Richmond Municipality. 

Local ward councillor Vincent Maphumulo said he had held several meetings and warned people not to build homes on the Eskom land.

“Those people were stubborn when I told them, ‘stop building on the Eskom land’.

“When we paid visits, people would deny being the homeowners,” said Maphumulo.

He said he wanted the homeowners to disclose who sold the land to them.    

He said he was aware of the court order, but he had yet to receive a copy of it, which he requested from Eskom. 

It was unclear why Eskom had only applied for the court order this year, even though the illegal land invasion started a few years ago. 

A man who residents pointed out as being one of the sellers of the land first denied having anything to do with the sale of Eskom-owned land. 

However, when told that Eskom had obtained an eviction order, he said, “It is confusing how the court granted Eskom the order without inviting the occupants to court to give their side of the story.

“I don’t remember hearing people saying they were going to court.

“I heard that meetings had been held at the police station,” said the alleged land seller. 

bongani.hans@inl.co.za