Occupants of notorious hijacked building evicted in the CBD
JOBURG – Court orders occupants living in illegal building to evacuate.
Tensions ran high outside an abandoned building on Lilian Ngoyi Street on 6 June after a court notice ordering the immediate evacuation of the building’s illegal occupants was put into effect.
Furniture and clothing could be seen strewn along the busy street as the evicted tenants scurried to retrieve their belongings.
The eviction comes a week after a candle-lit vigil was held at the entrance of the notorious building by the office of the MMC for Community Safety following the alleged gang rape of a pregnant woman on 16 May.
Read: UPDATE: Another pregnant woman falls prey to rape in the CBD
The 11 suspects made a first appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court and are due for a second appearance on 22 June.
Speaking to the publication amid the eviction frenzy, Lucas Ntshangase, who is the managing director at G3 Investigations, a company specialising in the provision of security services in eviction-related operations, said that although the company was ordered to assist in carrying out the eviction, the government needed to take a proactive stance to address the plight of those who occupy abandoned buildings.
He added that a number of other abandoned buildings in the inner city are on the company’s radar as similar evictions are imminent.
“The owners of most abandoned buildings seen in the inner city are no longer based South Africa, resulting in the abandonment. Company’s like Joshco (Johannesburg Social Housing Company), should acquire such buildings and renovate them,” said Ntshangase.
“In turn, the government should give social housing companies carte blanche to transform abandoned buildings and provide affordable housing to the masses.”
Read: Pregnant woman gang raped in CBD
Ntshangase believes that should such steps not be taken, the vicious cycle of illegal takeovers will become a thorn in the side of the financial district. “Should the government neglect the evicted tenants of abandoned buildings, they’ll simply find another building and repeat the cycle. So the government really needs to find a way, other than giving buildings up for private ownership as this can be expensive.”
Attempts to get a hold of the Mayor’s Office, Metro police and the Sheriff of the Court were unsuccessful by the time of publication. City Buzz will provide updates once more information is available.
