The Supreme Court has ruled that where persons illegally occupy public land, they also acquire protectable rights to housing. [File]The Government could face a hefty fine over the eviction of more than 15,000 residents, who had erected informal houses on a 404-acre land near Wilson Airport. In a historic judgement that will guide how landowners kick out squatters from either Government or private land, the Supreme Court yesterday declared that where persons illegally occupy public land, they also acquire protectable rights to housing. “An illegal occupation of private land cannot create prescriptive rights over that land in favour of the occupants. We don’t think the same can be said of an ‘illegal occupation’ of public land.

Source: Standard Digital January 11, 2021 20:01 UTC