From a distance it appeared to be a jumble sale. And while items were indeed jumbled, there was no sale, but rather a ruthless eviction of residents of the Honey Grove complex in Honeydew.
Three-ton trucks came rolling in on the morning of 5 September with hundreds of men dressed in red overalls and black boots. Doors were kicked down and home owners forced aside while their belongings were carried out and dumped on the street. Anyone who objected was quickly silenced.
Thirty black boots or more marched their way into each home and turned residents’ living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens into sheer mayhem. Toilets were broken, curtain rails ripped off the walls and windows smashed. Several residents returned from work to find their homes turned upside down, their laptops, digital cameras and money stolen during the eviction.
Jika Properties is claiming that the eviction process undergone is due to residents failing to pay rent, but residents tell a different story. “We have proof of payment into accounts claimed to be the owners of the property and letters informing us almost every three months that funds should be deposited into other unknown accounts, else risk being vindicated from our homes.”
Angry residents insist they have paid their rent and that the company who owns the complex has in fact been liquidated and as a result the owners are attempting to refill their bank accounts with money lost during the liquidation process.
Honey Grove complex resident Mohamed Pamba said, “I was scheduled to meet with Jika Properties in court and was waiting with my lawyer for Jika to arrive and hand me a new lease, but the property organisation did not pitch. I want to pay, but I refuse to pay into some random account and then have my money stolen”.
Another resident, Louis Tou, who travels often due to work stated, “I have already paid my rent to Rent A Den, Angor, Jika, and several other property organisations. I moved into the Honey Grove complex at the start of 2010 and have since then paid into several different accounts”.
Reasons for differing bank accounts and property organisations are at this point unknown.
The matter is still undergoing investigation as Randburg Sun is awaiting comment from the High Court regarding the eviction process. Angor has agreed to a meeting in the coming week and at the time of going to print Jika had not yet responded to the allegations.
