Illegal eviction drama continues as family struggles to prove ownership of house
An Alexandra family’s relentless fight to reclaim their property has become even harder as they discover they lack critical documents to prove ownership.
Three months ago, Nesta Mahlaba and Lucky Moima were evicted from their home in Alexandra Ext 9 by an anti-illegal immigration group, that allegedly terrorised Aldo Magano Street. Since then, they have been fighting to reclaim their house.
The group, which seized full control of the property, occupied it, and allegedly leased out rooms to their own tenants, justified the eviction by claiming Mahlaba lacks documents proving ownership. This forced Mahlaba’s family, alongside ActionSA’s provincial leaders, to visit the local Human Settlement office, to establish Mahlaba’s entitlement to the house. However, their efforts hit a snag when they discovered they lack important paperwork needed to prove ownership.
Read more: Alexandra family still displaced after alleged illegal eviction
Jeffrey Ramphaka, operations manager at the local Human Settlement office, confirmed that while the system links Mahlaba’s late husband’s ID number to the house, no allocation letter was issued, meaning the allocation was never formalised in the system. “When a person is allocated a house, their ID number should bring up their details, along with a ‘happy letter’, confirming they signed for and occupied the house. Here, there is a discrepancy. The allocation was done, but not formalised in the system. There’s no happy letter.”
Tumelo Shai, ActionSA chairperson in Ward 105, who has been supporting victims of the illegal evictions, said: “The system shows [Mahlaba’s husband] was among those staying in the waiting rooms in Vezinyawo, while awaiting allocation. It also shows he was allocated a house, but not given an allocation letter. We want to know what happened. So, we will be escalating the issue to the provincial Office of Human Settlement.”
Mahlaba said the eviction forced her to rely on friends for a place to stay in Alexandra, resulting in her having to move back to the Free State. “I sleep wherever I am offered a place to sleep. Now, I have just come back from the Free State. I had to spend money I do not have to come back here to prove that the house belongs to my late husband.”
Despite the setback caused by missing documentation, Mahlaba’s family remains determined to resolve the issue and prove their ownership of the house.
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