WATCH a video from the evictions yesterday:
The eviction order was granted by the High Court of South Africa Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg, and a notice informing the illegal residents to vacate the building was handed to the dwellers three weeks ago.
The residents were given seven days to vacate the building. According to the organisers of the eviction, the court order was not appealed.
An organiser of the eviction, who wished to remain anonymous said, “The building was hijacked. The main perpetrators who hijacked the building fled when the police arrived this morning. They are illegal collectors of rent.”
Another organiser said, “Following another eviction earlier this year, we came prepared as petrol bombs were thrown at us and barricades were put all over the street in order to stop us.”
Click here to read: WATCH: 1 200 people displaced from their homes
The organisers believed that the hijackers who managed the building moved 150 people into the building after they found out an eviction was set to take place. They took money from the soon-to-be evicted residents and fled the building on the morning of 12 August.
According to an organisers, the boiler room is filled with asbestos and has been broken into on a number of occasions when vandals attempted to run the boilers and heat the building. The organiser said this was highly dangerous for the residents who lived in the building as asbestos is highly flammable.
“Residents were warned, however, they keep breaking [into the room],” said the organiser.
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