A 51-year-old ANC ward councillor from Pretoria-West was arrested on Thursday morning on charges of malicious damage to property.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Anne Poortman said the councillor was being held at the Pretoria-West police station and would appear in court soon.
Pressed for comment on the details of the case, Poortman said those would be furnished at a later stage but she confirmed the arrest.
According to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members who gathered at the police station to support the ‘victims’, the councillor had allegedly orchestrated the eviction of as yet unidentified Pretoria West residents.
The exact reason and motive are currently not clear.
The EFF was there to offer their support. They further claimed that they had been instrumental in assisting the alleged victims to have the councillor arrested for her alleged actions.
An irate member of the EFF Tshwane Executive Committee charged with land affairs, Kitinki Mazwi, charged: “The councillor took advantage of these people because they are foreigners. But the foreigners are married to South African woman so we are surprised as to why the counsellor would evict them. The councillor evicted the residents without a court order or an eviction order,” he claimed.
He said clarity would hopefully be obtained as to why these residents had been evicted from their homes without the proper documentation when the counsellor appeared in court.
Meanwhile members from the African National Congress (ANC) were also present at the police station on Thursday night. The ANC members were allegedly there to support their counsellor. They would not comment when Rekord requested further details.
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