Police act on land grabs
Backyarders dispersed in Khayelitsha, but vow to keep rebuilding
POLICE used stun grenades to disperse angry backyarders from Town Two Khayelitsha, who had erected their shacks on Cityowned land. Hundreds of people have been occupying three tracts of land in the township, and among those who invaded the land were residents of Town Two who had been demanding houses since last Sunday.
Law enforcement officers were asked to accompany the contractors employed to remove the structures, but after the officers left, residents simply kept on rebuilding on the land.
There were violent clashes between the residents of Khayelitsha and law enforcement officers. Residents sang Struggle songs and the police used stun grenades as the disgruntled residents stoned a local community hall.
City safety and security director Richard Bosman said land grabs would not be tolerated and that the city had obtained interdicts to prevent the illegal occupation of land in Khayelitsha.
“This has been happening since Monday, mainly in the Khayelitsha area. We have now realised that this is not a once-off invasion.
“Late last night (Saturday) the City obtained three interdicts for different portions of land in Khayelitsha under threat of invasion. The sheriff served the interdict this (yesterday) morning and our staff have started to clear the areas invaded.
“In Makhaza a total of 106 structures were dismantled and removed, and staff are busy with a removal operation in the Sheffield Road area in Phillipi. Police have been assisting during the operations since yesterday (Saturday),” Bosman said.
Sindile Gaji, one of the Two Two residents, said they would keep erecting shacks on the land because their councillor had told them the land belonged to them.
“Last week we had a meeting with the councillor and he told us the land belongs to us, the backyarders, but we cannot erect on the land yet; we will be told when to.
“People have been waiting for years… we are not given a time-frame, meaning it will not happen any time soon.
“We were hurt today when the anti-land-invasion unit dismantled our shacks, but we will rebuild with the material that is left undamaged. We are really tired because some families move a lot and they need their own houses, and some have been backyard dwellers for many years now. We are tired of waiting and of empty promises,” Gaji said.
Law enforcement agencies said they would continue to monitor the situation.