FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Western Cape MEC for Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers, Minister Dean Macpherson, joined by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, and Theewaterskloof Municipality Mayor Lincoln de Bruyn, where they held a briefing on their plans for the Knoflokskraal settlement in the Elgin Valley near Grabouw, Western Cape.
Image: Theolin Tembo
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, said that the department (DPWI) has spent R41.4 million over four years to handle the unlawful invasion at Knoflokskraal, and that it has only gotten worse.
On Tuesday, Macpherson was joined by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, Western Cape MEC for Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers, and Theewaterskloof Municipality Mayor Lincoln de Bruyn, where they held a briefing on their plans for the Knoflokskraal settlement in the Elgin Valley near Grabouw, Western Cape.
Macpherson said the government will take decisive action to restore the rule of law, describing the occupation as serious, entrenched, and unsustainable, warning that the site had effectively become a parallel settlement operating outside lawful governance.
He said the unlawful occupation of state-owned land, which began in 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, had expanded from a small initial group into a settlement of about 4,000 structures, housing an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people.
How the land has been affected as of 2025.
Image: Supplied
He said the occupation was led by political groupings ahead of the 2021 local government elections, and had continued to grow despite repeated engagement by the government over successive administrations.
“What may once have been described as a localised unlawful occupation has now grown into an unsanctioned large-scale settlement on state-owned land.
“But the scale of the occupation is not the only concern. The far more serious issue is what has taken root in the absence of effective law enforcement. At present, Knoflokskraal is a space where, in many respects, the rule of law does not exist,” Macpherson said.
“There have been instances where departmental officials have been unable to access parts of the site at all. In effect, there are areas within Knoflokskraal that are off limits to the department, which is the lawful custodian of the land. That is a deeply concerning position for any democratic government to be in and is, frankly, unprecedented.”
Macpherson said that it was placing an unsustainable burden on the local municipality, with a growing demand for services - water, sanitation, and electricity - from a community that exists outside of any lawful planning framework.
De Bruyn said the municipality is coughing up R11 million a year to assist with municipal services to those who do not pay.
The government has, over a sustained period, received numerous allegations of unlawful and criminal activity on the site, Macpherson stated. These allegations include:
Macpherson said that there are multiple cases that have been opened at Grabouw SAPS relating to activities at Knoflokskraal.
These cases span offences including trespassing, theft, housebreaking, and fraud.
“Some resulted in arrests that were later withdrawn. Others remain under investigation with no arrests. The pattern is clear: cases have been opened, but accountability has not followed. They risk reinforcing the perception that unlawful activity can continue without accountability. Yet there has been little to no meaningful progress in those investigations.”
A number of people have occupied the land in Knoflokskraal near Grabouw.
Image: File picture
De Bruyn shared that he has been forced to wear a bulletproof vest because of threats linked to this situation.
“From hijacking state buildings and land to unlawfully occupying land outside the Union Buildings, we act without fear or favour to ensure the rule of law is respected, and our assets are reclaimed and protected.
Later, when addressing the cost, Macpherson explained that aside from the municipality's R11m a year, they “have spent up to R41.4 million since 2021 to 2024, which is an unbelievable amount of money that we have had to spend, and things get worse”.
“When you spend that kind of money, you expect it to get better. So we spend R41 million, it's got bigger and is getting bigger,” Macpherson said.
Some of the cost is tied to hiring private security and the ongoing court case.
He said the government would now move ahead with a structured three-pillar plan aimed at restoring order.
The first pillar is containment, which involves formalising and controlling access points, as well as implementing aerial and on-site mapping to monitor structures and movement.
“Containment is not eviction. It is the act of restoring order to a site that has been allowed to expand in an uncontrolled manner.”
Macpherson said the second pillar, social facilitation, would involve profiling residents, collecting socio-economic data, mapping structures, and documenting cultural or heritage-based claims. The third pillar, he said, would focus on direct engagement with residents rather than only through intermediaries or contested leadership structures.
The officials stressed the fact that they are not evicting people, and that, as far as they are aware, there are no land claims that have been lodged with the Land Claims Commission.
“People have said that they want to restore land. There is no land claim on land at all.
That's why it is an unlawful invasion, and the law is very clear that if you want to put in a claim, this is the process that you need to go through. But you can't say you have a claim and then none exists,” Macpherson said.
The social facilitation process is expected to begin in May and will allow residents to explain how they came to live at the site, how they want to be engaged, and what they know about alleged corruption, illegal land sales, and intimidation.
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za