Grace Mojapelo, who is nine months pregnant, was one of the hundreds of people evicted from land they were illegally occupying in Austin View on 12 July.
The spokesperson for the Metro police Wayne Minnaar said they had received an instruction to remove structures from the land. “About 80 shacks were removed from the [illegally-occupied] land,” said Minnaar.
When Midrand Reporter visited the area on 13 July, only one small shack was left standing in which Mojapelo had spent the night sleeping on a camping chair.
“I am unemployed and expected to give birth at any time,” she said.
“I was renting a shack in one of the informal settlements in Mayibuye. When I was told that there’s land available for us to live on, I was relieved because it meant I did not have to carry the financial burden of renting and my children would have a home of their own including the one on the way.
“Now I have nowhere to go and I am afraid I will give birth under the stars. How will my baby survive?”
The leader of community organisation Batho Pele, Sunnyboy Sebelemetja said they had approached the City on numerous occasions requesting the use of the land.
“We are all living in dire poverty,” he said.
“We have families and have been waiting for a long time for government to answer our plea for land. Most of the families here could not even afford to pay rent in the informal settlements that they were living in. Now, where should we go? All of us are destitute.”
Sellinah Maja who owns a stand on the invaded land said she bought the property in 2005. She said it was not the first time the land had been invaded. “I’m in the process of selling the property but potential buyers won’t be interested once they see what is happening.”
Rabie Ridge Police Station spokesperson Captain Mofana Masela confirmed that a case of trespassing on the land had been opened by the City of Johannesburg Department of Housing on 7 July. “A case was opened and the Metro police were called to remove the land invaders from the land,” he said.
Stakeholder liaison manager in the office of the MMC of Housing, Wellington Simelane said he was going to liaise with the regional office for more details.
Anyone who would like to assist Mojapelo can contact her on 082 834 4332.
Filler: What do you think is the possible solution to illegal land invasion? Tweet us @MidrandReporter
