JMPD arrests suspect for five-year hijacking of Bryanston Estate

JMPD arrests suspect for five-year hijacking of Bryanston Estate

Zuko Komisa

• Police have detained Lawrence Ramalwa for the 2020 hijacking and illegal sub-letting of a suburban property on Grosvenor Road.
• The rightful owner discovered hundreds of squatters on her land after returning from a trip five years ago.
• The suspect allegedly profited by charging tenants for space in makeshift wooden huts built across the hijacked estate.

Johannesburg Metro Police have arrested Lawrence Ramalwa for the alleged hijacking of a residence on Grosvenor Road in Bryanston.

Ramalwa is accused of taking over the property in 2020 and establishing an illegal rental business, leasing makeshift wooden huts and Wendy houses to hundreds of occupants for the past five years.

The invasion reportedly occurred while the homeowner was away on holiday. Upon her return, she found her Sandton estate occupied by a large number of squatters.

Since then, the property has remained under the control of the suspect, who allegedly exploited the abandoned site for financial gain.

The arrest marks a major breakthrough in a case that has seen the property illegally occupied for half a decade.

Following the apprehension of the alleged “kingpin,” authorities must now address the hundreds of tenants still residing in the unauthorised structures on the premises.

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