Durban’s housing protests turn violent
Engaged in fierce battle with land invaders for past two weeks
THURSDAY AUGUST 24 2017
PARTS of Durban were a war zone as violence erupted in Mariannridge, Howell Road in Sydenham and Bonela over the burning issue of housing. At Mariannridge, angry residents took to the streets in protest over houses they were promised they would own.
In Bonela, residents have been engaged in a fierce battle with land invaders for the past two weeks.
The fight for land and housing, believed by some to be politically motivated, resulted in a house being petrol-bombed and an 18-year-old resident being shot in the leg.
Members of the eThekwini Municipality’s Land Invasion Unit came under fire when they demolished newly erected shacks in Bonela. The residents claimed they were allowed to build shacks in the area because they were protected by an interim order granted recently by the Durban High Court.
The shack dwellers’ movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, sought the order that prohibits the city from carrying out evictions at Mariannridge, Cato Manor, Lamontville, Shallcross, Lindelani and Mariannhill.
However, the interdict only applies to those families whose shacks were demolished, and only those people listed in the interim order are allowed to rebuild.
Residents said they feared for their lives because the invaders were taunting them with bush knives and sticks.
A stay-at-home mother, who has been living in Bonela for the past 21 years, said she did not feel safe.
“Our area has been lumped together with other areas where the city’s Land Invasion Unit has come in and demolished shacks. We want Cato Manor to be removed from the court order and treated separately. It has been cited as a D’Moss area by the eThekwini Municipality,” she said.
Blinkbonnie Road resident Javedh Khan, 33, packed bags for his wife and four young children so that they could live with a relative until the situation had calmed.
Rock-throwing began at midday yesterday in Bonela, when the Land Invasion Unit and private security guards clashed with the group invading the land at the intersection of Wiggins and Blinkbonnie roads.
The invaders pelted the police with rocks.
“We are monitoring the situation because it is outside my front gate. We heard the crowd, mostly women, screaming. Then we heard the sound of guns go off. It was total chaos. We took cover as rocks were thrown at the houses,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, Howell Road residents were forcefully evicted in a long-running dispute with First Metro Housing, the company managing these units on behalf of the municipality.
Noleen Goldstone, 61, was evicted from the unit she shared with her husband, mother and three grandchildren.
The pensioner said her 88-year-old mother was “shaking like a leaf ”.
“We have nowhere to go. My sister lives in a one-bedroom flat and she’s got family there. No one has a place,” she said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, a police spokesperson, said no injuries were reported and no property was damaged. Stun grenades and rubber bullets were used to disperse the crowd. – Additional reporting by Zainul Dawood