Pretoria - Police in Mamelodi East had to open doors for evicted residents of Nellamapius after they were booted out from the flats they were illegally occupying.
Many took their blankets and clothes to the police station especially when it started raining.
Tshepo Mogase said he felt embarrassed going back to his family house.
“I felt like a man when I moved out of home. I felt independent to start my own life. But now I have to go back with my tail between my legs,” he said.
On Monday Red Ants pounced on the 500 illegal residents who were occupying the flats along Solomon Mahlangu Road.
Many of those who were left without a roof over their heads told Pretoria News that they were desperate with no alternative
The residents said they could not wait any longer for the city to allocate the houses, which they added were empty and being vandalised, or sold to foreign nationals.
Others said that while many of the apartments had not been finished yet, because sanitation or electricity facilities had not yet been installed, it did not deter them from moving into the flats.
Scores of evicted occupants are lined up on the street with their belongings scattered around them. Children as young as two years sat on mattresses as parents they salvage their belongings.
On Tuesday, some residents were salvaging some of their belonging.
Human Settlements Department spokesperson, Keith Khoza said the had a valid court order for the eviction which was granted last year. He said the units had their beneficiaries already and the illegal residents had no business being there. Khoza could give a specific date of when the eligible beneficiaries were supposed to move in. “It will be pretty soon, as the project is nearly at a tail end,” he said.