“The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) is in the process of dealing with this matter and will be obtaining a court order to protect the land and [secure the] eviction of those who invaded the land illegally.”
This is what Caleb Finn, councillor for Ward 70 said about the current situation at the old Roodepoort Rugby club. According to him, and the councillor for Ward 84, Gert Niemand, they received a report last Friday (5 May) stating that the Jerusalem informal settlement had fallen prey to illegal land invasion, and they wanted to assure residents that they are aware of the situation, and that it was handed over to the city for legal processes to be started.
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“Over the past couple of years, there have been numerous attempts to invade the land, all of which have so far been prevented by the fast reaction of JMPD and other city departments. This particular land invasion is on a scale not yet seen before – we have a very large number of people invading the land and also invading multiple sites,” Caleb said. He added that the matter was referred to the city’s legal department immediately. “Unfortunately, when the legal team approached the court over the weekend, the application was ruled as not urgent, and the case was only heard on Monday, 8 May,” he said.
The final confirmation on the court ruling has still not been received by late in the afternoon of 8 May. “As soon as the court order has been obtained by the city, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department’s Land Invasion Unit and the police will proceed to evict those who illegally invaded the land,” Caleb said.
There have been rumours that the evictions will start today, but this could not be confirmed. The Executive Mayor’s office, as well as the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety, was contacted for comment, but none has been received yet. As soon as comment is received, an update will be done.
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