WATCH: Building owner comments after eviction of tenants

Following a massive eviction of tenants at Winchester Court in Yeoville on 28 June, the owner of the building has commented.

The owner, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said it was unfortunate that the situation had to get to a point where people had to be removed.

“The building was hijacked and there were unlawful occupants. A court case has been going on for a long time and we finally got an eviction order, we tried to negotiate with them and letters were sent several times to tenants,” she said.

She also added that the magistrate took the matter into consideration before handing out the eviction order. She now hopes to renovate and rent the building out.

WATCH:

The Red Ants came in their masses to remove furniture and electrical equipment from the premises.

Residents living in the apartment complex said they were shocked by the eviction as they claimed they did not receive any court order to vacate the premises.

Herman Mashaba Democratic Alliance mayoral candidate for City of Johannesburg recently conducted a walkabout in Yeoville to draw attention to the high crime rate, drug abuse and hijacked buildings in this area.

WATCH:

Mashaba said there should be a zero tolerance approach to criminals who hijack buildings in the area and the City of Johannesburg should take the responsibility for such acts.

“We need to find a way to solve this problem, it keeps on escalating. This is a shortfall by the City of Johannesburg to implement bylaws,” he said.