Pretoria - Officials from the City of Tshwane and Gauteng government allegedly gave the go-head for residents to occupy land in the protest-torn Kanana Extension 3, Suurman and Sekampaneng, near Hammanskraal.
As the areas continued to burn on Tuesday, community leader Jakes Maleka said they were thus taken aback when they were evicted on Monday morning. This, and the fact that they had nowhere else to go, were the reasons behind their refusal to vacate the land.
“We were placed here by our councillor. Officials from the office of the Gauteng Human Settlements MEC came here and assured us this was our land,” he said.
At least 100 shacks were already down when the community went on the rampage on Monday, triggering a series of events which left at least two people dead and many injured.
The dead were security personnel contracted by the provincial government to conduct the eviction. One of them was set alight and the other beaten to death.
Buses were torched and motorists turned away from the areas. The protests continued throughout Tuesday, contrary to police reports earlier that calm had been restored.
Traffic was severely affected as Harry Gwala Avenue and Molefe Makinta Highway were blockaded with burning tyres and rubble.
A resident brazenly pulled out a pistol and threatened Power FM journalist Moloko Moloto, who was taking pictures.
Moloto, who was among a large media contingent covering the event, said afterwards he was terrified and had to beg for his life.
“It was terrifying. I am not too sure what would have happened had it not been for the locals who intervened. I’m scared, but I know many of these people are not hostile towards the media,” he said.
Police spokesman Captain Tsekiso Molefe said five people were arrested, four for public violence and one for murder.
The land is owned by Kekana Tribal Authority. It was the royal community that sought an eviction order, according to Tshwane mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale.
He rejected public speculation that the city was behind the eviction and said the municipality merely intervened and supported the SAPS during the eviction.
“The city’s involvement stems from the fact that we do have jurisdiction in the area and are therefore assisting the land owner to execute the interdict,” said Manale.
He emphasised that the city played a supporting role and was not the antagonists in the eviction. “The operation is legally led by the SAPS. We are supporting them. This is important because perception is now that we are leading the operation.”
Manale said Tshwane did not play a role in hiring the security companies tasked with evictions.
He said the Red Ants were hired by the Gauteng provincial government. The other service provider was from the city, he said.
The residents were hit hard by the evictions. They spent most of the day attempting to piece together their demolished shacks while chaos and protests continued.
Daniel Mulaudzi told the Pretoria News that all he wanted was for the metal sheets that were taken during the evictions to be returned. He said he had no where else to go.
“These people stole our IDs, money and valuables. They searched for valuables before tearing down our homes,” said Mulaudzi. He and his family were forced to spend the night in the open as they feared that vandals and “nyaope boys” would loot the rest of their belongings.
Tshwane metro police spokesman Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said Majoris Security Services officers were sent to demolish shacks illegally erected on the affected areas. A court order was obtained and notice given to the residents to vacate the land within 24 hours. However, they ignored the order.
“The situation became hostile, and while the officials were retreating, community members attacked them,” said Mahamba.
“A 38-year-old male was among those arrested and will be charged with one of the murders. There are still shacks that we could not demolish. While some people have since left the area voluntarily, others remained behind and rebuilt their shacks.”
Mahamba said they were still discussing the way forward with stakeholders. “We advise motorists using the Molefe Makinta highway to be cautious as there are still rocks, burnt tyres and other debris (there).”
By Tuesday night, it was not clear whether the impasse would come to an end despite community leaders having met with officers from the local Temba police station.
Maleka said they reached a temporary agreement with SAPS to allow residents to return to their land. This would be done while attempting to reach the City of Tshwane and the Kekana Tribal Authority.
To their knowledge, part of the land was owned by the city and the other by the Kekana Tribal Authority, he said.
Pretoria News