Metro reclaims hijacked buildings in Region 3
The final batch of eviction orders instructs the illegal occupants to leave by July 12.
Illegal occupants were evicted during a by-law enforcement operation in Pretoria West on July 10.
Tshwane Mayor, Nasiphi Moya, and members of the mayoral committee were there for the operation, which covered parts of Marabastad, the CBD, and Pretoria West.
Moya said they previously visited the properties in April.
“In April, we visited a block of hijacked city buildings on Bloed Street in the CBD.
“We’ve now started the process of evicting illegal tenants who run spaza shops, furniture shops and scrap yards.
“Yesterday, we tackled a section of the properties by switching off the electricity. We continue as the final batch of eviction orders has a July 12 deadline,” Moya confirmed.
In Pretoria West, officials evicted illegal tenants who had built dozens of shacks inside a hijacked building in the area.
The mayor said that the shacks posed a serious threat to the health and safety of people living in them.
She added that it was time the metro legitimised the use of city property for the benefit of residents.
“We came back again in June just to make sure that the whole precinct, which belongs to the City of Tshwane, and has been hijacked, gets reclaimed.”
Moya shared their vision of building low-cost housing developments there. Because of the size of the land, they want to make a mixed-use development.
She added that they especially saw the potential to have a manufacturing hub in Pretoria West for small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMME).
“These are not our tenants, they have been subletting to people we don’t even know.”
She said the illegal occupants had until Sunday to leave the premises, otherwise they would ‘be taken care of’ on July 13.
The mayor said other eviction notices were issued to businesses operating illegally in the area, and that, during the operation, foreign nationals had tried to negotiate permission to stay open.
She said the original tenants had abandoned their payment obligations, and instead chose to milk these properties for their own profit.
“We met a man who says he has a lease agreement with the City of Tshwane, but he can’t remember when last he paid his water and electricity bill.
“He has been served with an eviction notice, and must be out of the building by July 12. We arrested three people on the property who are immigrants, but don’t have passports,” Moya said.
Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise said that they will continue to crack down on these hijacked buildings, as they are running operations that cost the metro millions.
“Buildings [are] hijacked by undocumented individuals operating full-scale businesses and illegal manufacturing inside. A formal notice to vacate was issued a month ago.
“Today, we’ve cut off illegally connected electricity and water as part of restoring order and lawful use of these public assets.
“Arrests have been made. South Africa is a country governed by laws, and those laws will be upheld without compromise.
“There is no room for negotiation when it comes to lawlessness,” Modise said.
Watch here:
The City is owed over R26 million from leasing 12 properties, with 35 stands in Pretoria West. The businesses that we’ve served with eviction notices aren’t our tenants, they are subleasing from people who had original leases with the city. Those original tenants had abandoned… pic.twitter.com/lIeixylFek
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) July 10, 2025
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