Thousands of homeless people have lost a total of R2 million after they were duped into buying plots of land in Soweto and the Vaal region that belong to the government.
Last week, the police made a breakthrough in the land scam, arresting nine people, including a man who worked for an NGO that helps displaced people to find land where they can build houses.
According to investigating officer Detective Stephen Selomo, of the Protea Glen police station, the suspects were arrested on September 29 for allegedly selling the plots of land in Protea Glen, Diepkloof, Lenasia and parts of the Vaal.
The suspects, using what looked like legitimate documents, claimed to be part of the Wildebeesfontein Evaton Community Organisation (Weco) and managed to convince the victims into depositing money into a bank account.
Weco is a registered NGO which helps people who have been illegally evicted from their homes.
The organisation is in the process of claiming land from the government at the Land Claims Court. However, the organisation does not sell land.
"Lucas Sithole, one of the people arrested, previously worked for the organisation but was fired a while ago. He still had the organisation's documents and letterheads in his computer and was able to draft documents which made his sales pitch to the people look legitimate," said Selomo.
"He called his team, comprising the other eight, 'The Weco Task Team', and when they pitched to residents, they told them they were responsible for the administration and selling of plots of land for the organisation."
According to Selomo, the suspects asked desperate home-seekers to pay them R350 for a stand where they would then build their house.
"They told the people that stands were worth R3 500 and they were receiving a bargain buying a land from them," he added.
But then Weco got wind of the|scam from people who came to their offices in Protea Glen to complain about not getting the plots of land they had paid for.
Weco vice-president Joseph Mahlaba confirmed that the organisation had dismissed Sithole.
He said Sithole allegedly worked with Albert Nangalembe, who owned|a close corporation called Builders Advancement Services, and they had used his bank account to deposit cash.
The other suspects are Mthetheleli Mpendu, Zoliswa Moni, Andrew Molefe, Promise Ngxabane, Maria Radebe, Nkosi Kwenane and Lidia Logae.
They appeared in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Friday, where their case was postponed for further investigations.
The housing manager of the Emufuleni municipality in the Vaal area, Felicity Human, confirmed that the stands in question belonged to the council and were worth around R18 000.
"We have had to ask the Red Ants to evict people living on the plots of land but luckily haven't had much resistance. However, the people do seem to think they bought the land legally. In most cases, the people move back to wherever they lived before," she said.
The suspects will appear in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Friday for their formal bail application.