deprivation . Therefore , any form of home invasion or hijacking of residential property constitutes a form of arbitrary deprivation as envisaged and prohibited by Section 25 .
One would assume that the police have a duty to act when a citizen ’ s property is being threatened ; however , they often neglect or refuse to adhere thereto when homeowners request urgent assistance to remove home invaders and / or the unlawful occupiers of these residential hijacking syndicates .
The primary piece of legislation which seeks to protect property owners and lawful occupiers from unlawful entering and occupation of property is the Trespass Act 6 of 1959 . Section 1 thereof defines the offence of trespassing as the unlawful entering , in whole or in part , without permission by any person of a property belonging to an owner or lawfully occupied by someone other than the owner .
Offenders may immediately be arrested and removed from the property by police , whereafter prosecution may commence to formally charge and convict them of trespassing . If the offenders are found guilty on the trespassing charges , Section 2 ( 2 ) of the Act grants the same court the power to make an order for the summary ejection of such a person from the land or property concerned .
Can a private individual arrest someone without a warrant ?
The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 allows for private individuals to effect an arrest without a warrant . Section 42 ( 3 ) authorises the owner , lawful occupier or any other person in charge of a property that is the subject of any crime being committed thereon , to arrest the person found on the property committing the offence .
This authorisation to arrest should , however , be carefully considered as an unlawful arrest or an arrest carried out with excessive force resulting in the unreasonable injuring of the perpetrator , may lead to civil litigation being instituted against the arrestor ( meaning the owner or lawful occupier ) for injuries and / or damages suffered .
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine OCT 2022 83