Durban’s Land Grab Disaster: Bluff Residents Take Transnet to Court!
Ward 66 councillor Zoë Solomon with Transnet employees conducted an oversight visit at the invaded land. Photo: Supplied.
Durban’s Bluff, once a quiet coastal suburb, is now the epicentre of a growing illegal land occupation on Transnet property. Residents, frustrated by years of inaction, have launched legal action to secure and rehabilitate the land while exposing state negligence.
Durban’s Bluff has become a cautionary tale of state neglect and bureaucratic inertia. Illegal settlements have proliferated since lockdown 2020, spreading onto environmentally sensitive Transnet-owned land and threatening homes, property values, and local businesses.
Despite repeated warnings and site visits, Transnet failed to enforce its own property rights. Now, the Bluff community, led by attorney Allison Schoeman, is demanding:
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Removal of unlawful occupiers through proper legal channels.
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Rehabilitation of damaged land.
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Prevention of future invasions and environmental degradation.
The case highlights systemic governance failures across South Africa, showing that ordinary citizens often must enforce the law themselves. Environmental reports indicate severe erosion, vegetation loss, and structural risk to nearby properties. The Bluff initiative demonstrates a broader need for accountability, transparency, and active enforcement from state-owned entities.
This is not a fight against the poor but against institutional neglect that undermines property rights and governance.
