Left homeless to house others

Published Oct 8, 2015

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Durban - When demolishers arrived at Maria Tekana’s home in Inanda on Wednesday to knock it down, the devastated woman ran inside, saying she would go down with the house.

Tekana’s family of five were left homeless when the sheriff of the court and demolishers contracted by the eThekwini Municipality destroyed the R250 000 house.

Built by Tekana’s late son, the home had three bedrooms, a kitchen, lounge, bathroom, and a toilet.

Tekana, 56, and another two homeowners in the neighbourhood had been locked in a court battle with the municipality after being told they had to move from the area as the city wanted to roll out a low-cost housing project.

They were told the land they had occupied since the 1980s belonged to the municipality. Their efforts to challenge the municipality were unsuccessful as the court ruled that the houses be demolished.

Yesterday, outside what used to be Tekana’s home, neighbours, who supported the woman and her family, argued with government officials.

Tekana had refused to vacate the building. She and her weeping son held on to the security gate, not wanting the workers to continue with the demolition operation. The workers went inside the house and removed her belongings. Her beds, stove, sofas, kitchen units and food were all taken outside.

The traumatised Tekana begged the officials not to demolish her home, asking where they thought she would go with her family after they had completed their work.

The woman was forcibly removed from the house by the police and wailed as she was placed on the ground.

“Where am I going to sleep with my family? I have two grandchildren – where are they going to sleep?”

When the bulldozer which was to be used in the task approached, neighbours who had been watching threw stones at the demolishers and the police.

Some of the neighbours were in tears. Police fired rubber bullets at those who were throwing stones. A window of a nearby car, believed to be that of the sheriff of the court, was shattered.

Tekana said: “A letter from eThekwini was served, ordering me to appear in court because my house was on land that had been earmarked for the housing development. For the whole year, I was attending court cases about the matter and as far as I am concerned the case had not been finalised.

“I was surprised when these people came to demolish my house. The last time I was in court, the municipality said it was not going to pay for the damages and the case was left hanging. Now this happens,” the distressed woman said.

A further two houses in the vicinity were demolished on Wednesday.

Municipal spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa was not available for comment at the time of publication.

The Mercury

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