Police fired hundreds of rubber bullets to disperse a group if illegal squatters in East Lynne on Saturday afternoon.
The clashes are said to have started early in the day when a group of settlers illegally set up camp along Jan Coetzee and Lanham roads.
Ward councillor Freddie Pienaar said the people were “land grabbers who have been planning since January to occupy land”.
ALSO READ: EFF calls for constitutional land expropriate change
The group is said to have occupied the area in the early hours of the morning and had erected about 15 shacks by 6:00.
“I started receiving information from the community regarding the planned invasion of that area in January,” he said.
“That’s when we started mobilising and informing the land invasion authorities of what was going to happen,” Pienaar said.
Tshwane metro police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said 707 rounds of rubbers bullets were fired by police in an attempt to disperse the “violent crowd”.
ALSO READ: GALLERY: West a sanctuary for squatters?
After several attempts to try and engage the group, Mahamba said a service provider was called in to demolish the incomplete shacks.
“While the service provider workers were demolishing the shacks, the people started attacking them with stones,” he said.
Mahamba said about 180 shacks were demolished.
TMPD warned people to stop occupying land illegally.
ALSO READ: Another land grab
“Nobody will illegally occupy land in the city of Tshwane, we are going to make sure of it.
“We will use the law against anybody who erects a shack illegally,” Mahamba said.
He urged residents to wait for the city’s pronouncement on land occupation.
Pienaar told Rekord that a resident of the area was apparently caught up in the clashes and sustained an injury after being shot with a rubber bullet.
“A resident called me to say her son was shot with a rubber bullet. I immediately called an ambulance.”
Pienaar said the illegal squatters had dispersed, but he had reason to believe that they would return.
ALSO READ:Tshwane targets illegal land use
“Some of them may have left but the information I received is that they will be coming back tonight,” said Pienaar.
Residents who had visited various voting stations in the area to update their details were evacuated and some could not register during the first day of independent election commission registration weekend.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
