By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is approaching the Western Cape High Court to stop the continued occupation and fraudulent sale of state-owned land, Knoflokskraal in the Western Cape.
During a media briefing on Monday, DPWI minister Dean Macpherson said government will be submitting court papers on 19 October with the aim to “restore the rule of law at Knoflokskraal.”
Knoflokskraal comprises six state-owned farms covering approximately 2,000 hectares in the Elgin Valley near Grabouw. The land falls under the custodianship of the DPWI and was historically intended for forestry, job creation and economic development.
The occupation began during the Covid-19 lockdown in late 2020. According to Macpherson, the number of structures increased from approximately 382 in May 2021 to around 3,800 by February 2022 and approximately 4,880 by August of that year.
We reported in April 2026 that the settlement has grown to 15,000 to 20,000 people, added Macpherson.
The government obtained containment orders in 2021 for three of the properties, which remain in force, Macpherson said. Sheriff enforcement operations resulted in the removal of structures, but the occupation continued to grow.
The government subsequently attempted to resolve the matter through engagement with community leadership structures and social facilitation.
Following a multi-stakeholder engagement in August 2025, the government held direct discussions with the Knoflokskraal Community Task Team. These led to a formal meeting on October 24, 2025, at which the parties agreed that containment was non-negotiable and that a social facilitation process should begin.
The engagements resulted in an in-principle agreement to enter into a Social Compact Agreement in December 2025. However, Macpherson said the agreement was ultimately rejected amid disagreements between competing community groupings.
Macpherson said they had collected evidence of fraudulent land sales, extortion and a “parallel policing structure” on the state-owned land.
The government’s affidavit contains over 1,000 pages, said Macpherson. He added that the application would set out the history of the occupation, attempts to engage with residents, and evidence received from whistleblowers within Knoflokskraal.
The application will have two parts. Part A asks the court to let the department serve the papers on residents by other means, so that affected people can come forward and place their version of events to the court under oath. Part B is for a containment order to stop further occupation. The order will expand on an existing order over three of the six parcels of land which make up Knoflokskraal.
“Government needs to establish who is living at Knoflokskraal, how households are made up, when people arrived, their socio-economic circumstances, what vulnerabilities exist, and what cultural or heritage claims are being advanced, if any, “said Macpherson.
He said whistleblowers have given government evidence that plots at Knoflokskraal were being sold for R1,500 each. “If someone is fraudulently selling state land that they do not own and have no authority to allocate, or collecting unlawful levies in connection with that land, they are not helping vulnerable people obtain land. They are exploiting them.”
Macpherson said they believed a “substantial” number of properties at Knoflokskraal are second properties belonging to people who actually live in Cape Town but use their plots as “holiday homes”.
The department will also ask the court for an order “prohibiting unlawful conduct” and to instruct the police to enforce the court orders. They also received evidence that illegal levies were being collected from residents.