Sicelo Williams, an employee from Department of Agriculture was bailed out with three thousand rands after his first appearance at the magistrate's court in De Aar on 19 April 2023. This follows his arrest by the Hawks for land fraud and fined the victim ninety five thousand four hundred and fifty rand. Williams, allegedly identified himself as the legal owner of a vacant plot of land in the De Aar area, was arrested in Kimberley on Tuesday by members of the De Aar-based Fraud Investigation Unit. Hawks spokesperson Captain Tebogo Thebe says the suspect allegedly promised to organize a sales meeting between the owner of the land and the buyer who happened to be in Cape Town. The meetings procrastinated and never occurred. “The said unoccupied land was visited and all applicable legal papers concluded. A payment of R95 450 was effected to the benefit of the suspect,” he said. Adding, “The vacant land sold never belonged to the suspect nor his associates.” Councilor Sandile Makhandula expressed disappointment stating that Williams is highly regarded in the community and he has sanctioned his reputation be buried with shame. “He has acted unlawfully, the law needs to charge him and set an example for those who would want to try to act similar” said Makhandula. “Those who have an interest in purchasing vacant land need to be vigilant. One needs to do background checking prior buying from unregistered real estate individual”. Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance welcomes the official charges. Chrystal Francis, political researcher said they remain concerned that land reforming in the province is not moving speedily to prevent such cases. And they hope the department will institute fitting consequences for such act. Williams is set to appear again in court next month pending Hawks investigations. The provincial department of agriculture is yet to respond.