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The atmosphere was sombre this afternoon in the Sekampangeng township of Hammanskraal as residents rebuilt their demolished homes following violent protests against eviction.
Roads leading into the township were blockaded with burning tyres, rocks and sign posts, and black smoke billowed from various points.
There was no sign of the Red Ants, the security company contracted to execute eviction notices.
Carol Khalo, a 27-year-old mother of two, said she was shocked to come home from work to find her house demolished.
She had to sleep on her bed in the open to protect her belongings from being stolen.
“Today I didn’t go to work because I’m scared they will steal my things. I won’t even get paid because I’ve been here. What if I lose my job?” she said.
Khalo said she’d been living in Sekampangeng since January and they were not given a notice of eviction. “They didn’t give us notice, we lived here thinking we were cleared [to stay here]. We slept and lived here with no issues,” she said.
Khalo said men in blue uniforms arrived and started shooting at the residents with rubber bullets. She also said that she was beaten with a sjambok by men in red uniforms.
“I asked if I could get some things out of my house but when I spoke they beat me,” she said.
She expressed anger at the way the situation had unfolded and didn’t understand why they were being evicted because she believed they were legally occupying the area.
The issue of whether the occupation was legal has not been clarified. Many residents were adamant that their occupation of the land was approved by the City of Tshwane as well as Abram Marobane, the ward councillor.
Residents have called for the attention of Gauteng Premier David Makhura or Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, saying they would continue protesting until one of them came to address them.
Six people have been injured and two were killed yesterday. Reports claimed the victims were Red Ants members but no official statement has been made to certify this. Five people were arrested for public violence and damage to property.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance has blamed Ramokgopa for the violent protests in Hammanskraal.
“The housing crisis at the root of these protests is a direct result of Ramokgopa’s failure to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable residents in our city have the chance to get the houses and land they deserve,” DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Solly Msimanga said.
He called for allegations that ANC councillors were involved in the corrupt allocation of government houses to be investigated.
The police would continue monitoring the situation in Hammanskraal, acting national police commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane said today.
He said the violence that had gripped the community in the north of Pretoria since Monday was “an eviction gone wrong”.
Numerous attempts to get comment from the city of Tshwane and Marobane were unsuccessful. City Press journalists were threatened by a group of men and had to leave Hammanskraal for their safety.
Pictures by Zahra Haider
