Gallery: Scores evicted in Fleurhof, vow to illegally occupy flats again

A group of homeless people who were evicted from a block of flats in Fleurhof, Soweto, have vowed to return to their units.

The City of Johannesburg is expected to hand over housing units to beneficiaries on Wednesday.

On Tuesday morning, the municipality released an army of Red Ants to evict hundreds of people who had allegedly illegally occupied properties since 2017.

Scores of occupants were seen scattered outside the flats next to their belongings ,while others kept watch over their belongings and children.

They said they would spend the night on the street since they did not have an alternative place to sleep.

Some complained their belongings – including crucial documents, cash and other items – were taken during the evictions.

Mzwakhe Mkhize, who identified himself as an ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe Military Veterans (MKMVA) member from Meadowlands, claimed he was ready to put his life on the line to ensure no one occupied the flats except those who had been living there since 2017.

Mkhize said many of the occupants had been waiting for RDP houses since 1996 and decided to invade the flats because of undue delays.

“We have been living here peacefully and some of us have renovated units we occupied. The biggest problem is that the City is planning to allocate units to people who have not even registered for houses.

“We have been living in backyards rooms without RDP houses for many years. There have been groups that were evicted some time ago and they are now living in tents in Florida. These evictions are going to create tension.”

He believed there were over 10 000 units that had not been occupied since completion.

“Our government is doing nothing for us. As an MKMVA member, I was trained for war. We are not going to allow our mothers to be evicted like dogs, especially during Women’s Month.

“Some mothers with young children are now homeless. They are going to sleep on the streets.”

Sibongile Molapo claimed the eviction notices given to them were fake.

“I have lost my identity documents and my children’s birth certificates. No one is going to occupy these flats while we are homeless. We are going back into our units. Our children are attending school here, where do they expect us to go when we have started new lives here?” asked Molapo.

Dipuo Telekwa had been occupying a unit since 2017.

Telekwa said she was outside watching her things when the Red Ants arrived and took them away.

The mother of two claimed she had no place to go to and was prepared to sleep with her two children and grandchild on the street.

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