Johannesburg - Vuyo Nkosi was left with just the clothes on her back and nothing to feed her children when the shack she was staying in was set alight by angry Tsakane residents.
On Thursday, the residents of the Ekurhuleni township took to the streets after they were allegedly duped by members of an organisation called the African National Housing Forum.
They burnt down the house of the woman who allegedly conned them. Her secretary’s house was also torched.
Two months ago, residents who were desperate for houses fell for a scheme they believed was genuine - although the “sellers” collected money in buckets and operated out of a shack.
The forum was allegedly offering land to residents for anything between R70 and R100.
Once they paid, they were allowed to build their shacks on a stand.
The residents filled in forms and were told these would be taken to the “Joburg office”.
“They would physically count seven steps and measure the stand into a square for you. The money was collected in big buckets,” said one resident, who didn’t want to be named.
“Thousands of people have bought these stands. Red Ants surprised us today and started taking down the shacks, claiming the land belonged to someone else,” said another resident.
Affected areas included extensions 16, 17 and 19.
Nkosi’s shack was previously mistakenly taken down by Red Ants.
For the past month, Nkosi was staying in the shack that was being used by the forum as an office to collect the forms and money.
“My children are hungry. All my belongings are gone. I called this woman from the forum and told her what happened but she left me stranded,” said Nkosi.
Police at the scene told residents to open a case against the alleged fraudsters and use the local hall for accommodation.
The forum could not be contacted on Thursday.
The phone numbers for the forum on the forms that were given to residents who wanted to buy land were not answered.
The Star