‘We are not dogs, we are human beings’
ABOUT 100 people were pelted with rubber bullets and tear gas by police after they invaded a housing project in Wentworth on Friday night.
The group is opposing the R140 million Austerville flat refurbishment project which will see the flat residents moved into the homes temporarily while the flats are renovated.
The protesters claim the money could be better spent housing homeless families or those living in overcrowded conditions – as opposed to the flats’ residents.
The protesters had given the government two weeks to respond to their concerns but invaded the houses this weekend when they were not given feedback.
According to witnesses, police stormed the properties and were “violent for no reason”.
Eight children and six adults were injured, while six people were arrested and charged for trespassing and malicious damage to property.
The protesters marched to the Wentworth Police station yesterday, where they handed a petitions of more than 600 signatures to the station commander.
They were adamant that the houses belonged to them and saw nothing wrong with the invasion.
Shirley Johnson said she would rather die than give up fighting for her house.
“After we moved into the houses, we were relaxing and having a good laugh when we heard the sounds of police sirens. Within minutes the officers started to manhandle us and push us around.
“They started shooting us with rubber bullets and threw tear gas at us. They had no consideration for the children who were with us,” said Johnson.
Dean Martin, claimed the land where the temporary houses were located was once a park.
“The actions of police are unacceptable and we are upset. We are humans and not dogs.
The Austerville project steering committee is meant to advocate for our demands but are not transparent and do not communicate with us,” he said.
However, the secretary of the Austerville project steering committee, Patrick Mkhize, denied this.
He said regular meetings were held.
“These people who are trying to stop the flat refurbishment clearly have a hidden agenda and we will not entertain this,” said Mkhize.
He said the invasions were stalling the renovation of the flats and the delays were detrimental to residents who had been waiting a long time for the scheduled upgrade.