An elderly St Elizabeth man is appealing for the intervention of Justice Minister Delroy Chuck after a court ordered him to vacate land he has lived on for 41 years by Sunday, insisting that he is not a squatter.

A disheartened William Phillips, 75, said he has occupied the New Town, Black River, property since 1985, after his uncle, Artie Phillips, reportedly instructed him to take over the land, which had been neglected. He said the land originally belonged to his granduncle, Albert George Burton, and was passed down within the family, first to Artie Phillips, and later, to him.

“I’m not a squatter,” Phillips told The Gleaner. “This a family land, and it was given to one of the family.