Marievale residents have nowhere to go
- forced to vacate their houses by army officials
Some families, who had lived at the Marievale military base in Dunnottar for many years, were forced to pack up and go, after army officials swooped in at the military base in Marievale on November 28.
Around 600 civilians occupy the run down military base, which used to be a mining village and residents like Willie Koekemoer had lived there since the 1970’s.
Accusations of intimidation and brutal assault have surfaced since 2015, when army officials first swooped in to dig trenches around various exit points to prohibit undisturbed entry to and from the military base, but now residents who could not provide documents supporting their right to live there, were told to vacate their houses.
During a radio interview on Power FM this morning, SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dhlamini said the facility is being occupied unlawfully and that SANDF does not need a court order to have illegal occupants evicted. He added that SANDF needs the facility back to provide housing to its members.
Secretary for Defence and Military Veterans Dr Sam Makhudu Gulube, yesterday denied allegations of evictions and said the instruction issued by SANDF was “that engineer units must maintain a military alertness at the military base and conduct road blocks until December 15, as an influx of illegal immigrants are expected.”
Meanwhile, the Marievale Residents Association employed the services of an advocate who approached the High Court in Pretoria today for an interdict that will prohibit the eviction of any residents proclaimed in terms of the former rental agreements to legally occupy a dwelling on the premises.
The outcome is not yet known and HERAUT will later publish more information on this.
