Cabbage bandit’ is being accused of profiteering from a ‘land grab,’ according to the City of Tshwane
Joe Nkuna’s reasons for growing vegetables outside his home, according to the acting chief of staff of the City of Tshwane, Jordan Griffith, are not as benevolent as he says.
Known as the “cabbage bandit,” Nkuna has stated on Facebook that the majority of the vegetables he plants are donated to those in need of them.This is done to assist his wife, who works as a social worker in Soshanguve. He claims he began cultivating vegetables outside his home in 2019.
Griffith, on the other hand, maintains that Nkuna is also selling vegetables to his neighbors.
“He has stated that he is growing the vegetables for the benefit of the nation and that he is attempting to benefit the general populace. If you look closely at some of his Facebook posts, you will notice that he has openly discussed grabbing the city’s land. “This is concerning to me”. Griffith stated on Azania Mosaka Show on 702 that the man claims to have 100 meters of government-owned land and feeds his neighbors for R10′′.
A strip of land near his home, according to sources, is where Nkuna began cultivating veggies.
According to Griffiths, “Mr. Nkuna appears aggressively to have sought to portray himself as the victim of this situation when, in fact, all we are doing is ordinary bylaw enforcement in the City of Tshwane.”
“It makes me uncomfortable to see members of the media and citizenry openly attempting to support what amounts to a land grab”.
Police officials approached Nkuna and informed him that he was in violation of the rules since he was cultivating veggies on the city’s land. Apparently, Tshwane by-laws only permit grass and flowers to be planted in the open, not vegetables such as cabbage, onion, or spinach.
According to TMPD spokesperson Issac Mahamba, Nkuna was fined R1 500 for “obstructing a walkway.” The summons to appear in court was also placed on him because he was using municipal property to cultivate vegetables, which he still denies.
