Defiant Pennyville, Roodepoort, residents have prevented the Red Ants from evicting them from their homes – for now.
About 50 residents were scheduled to be evicted from the Absa-owned flats in the Pennyville flat complex near New Canada, but the Red Ants managed to evict only 10 tenants, including a heavily pregnant woman, on Monday.
Following a tip-off that residents’ committee members received on Sunday night, the community mobilised to protect their flats. They burnt tyres, placed bricks and rocks in the street, and set up black refuse bins and plastic barricades to prevent the infamous eviction squad from entering.
The Red Ants who managed to gain access chased residents who tried to interfere with crowbars.
One resident was allegedly hit with a crowbar on his forehead, and another resident allegedly punched a Red Ant.
There was a tense stand-off between residents and the eviction squad as each group lined the opposite sides of the street, hurling insults at one another. SAPS officers on foot and two Nyalas full of police officers patrolled the area.
A group of residents stood on the corner of the street chanting, dancing and singing and proclaimed that they would never allow the Red Ants to enter their section of the complex.
A truck belonging to the eviction squad was set alight, but it was extinguished before the vehicle could be destroyed.
The drama began earlier this year when residents were evicted for non-payment of rent. The residents participated in a rent boycott in protest against poor and hazardous living conditions and double billing for electricity.
In July, six people were evicted, but lawyers for the residents applied to the Johannesburg High Court for leave to appeal the eviction order, which is still pending. Residents said they were baffled by the latest evictions because they say they had been paying their rent in full for the past three months and had proof of payment to back them up.
Residents’ committee chairman Mongezi Mbatha called the eviction illegal. “We’re confused by this illegal eviction action. According to the Magistrate’s Court) Act, all eviction orders must be suspended until the matter is finalised, but the matter has not been finalised.” - The Star