Woodlands businesses looted, police presence increased

CRIMINALS took advantage of land grabs by backyard dwellers in Woodlands, Mitchells Plain, to loot and rob businesses in the surrounding area.

Provincial police said seven people were arrested in connection with looting and public violence.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said cases of business burglary and theft had been opened for investigation. Seven people were arrested.

“At this stage the area remains calm and there is a high visibility of SAPS operational units and other law enforcement agencies in the Woodlands area. Our forces will remain in the area until we are satisfied that law and order has been restored,” Van Wyk said.

Yesterday, backyard dwellers started rebuilding their structures, which were demolished by law enforcement officers during protests over housing in the area on Monday.

This comes after another group of about 120 people erected informal structures on a piece of land they had illegally occupied in Woodlands.

One of the women who erected a structure the field, Barbara Matthews, said: “Our house is so overcrowded that some of us have to sleep in the kitchen and living room. We have a three-bedroom house with 20 people living there. You can imagine how it is in the mornings when everyone has to use the bathroom.

“My dad is sleeping outside in the car now, so that my child and I could sleep in the bed next to my mom. All my parents want is that houses are built, so that we can move out of the house. In 2012, 2013 and 2015 the council told us that they would be building houses in Woodlands. But nothing came of it. This is why they must understand why people are protesting,” she said.

Lutfiha Meyer said she had been on the housing waiting list for 20 years.

“We live in a small room in my mother’s house. I have three children,” she said.

Munier Baxter, who also erected a structure on the field, said: “I have been staying with my wife and seven children in a wendy house for five years. As a man, you want your family to live in a decent house,” he said.

AT THIS STAGE THE AREA REMAINS CALM AND THERE IS A HIGH VISIBILITY OF SAPS OPERATIONAL UNITS IN THE WOODLANDS AREA

PICTURE: CINDY WAXA/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY(ANA) CLEANED OUT: Opportunistic criminals in Mitchells Plain looted two garages and several shops in the Woodlands area.