More Illegal Evictions Threatened in the Motala Heights Settlement Tomorrow

Monday, 11 December 2006
Press Release from the Motala Heights branch of Abahlali baseMjondolo

More Illegal Evictions Threatened in the Motala Heights Settlement Tomorrow

‘Everywhere the Municipality is Running to Attack the Bahlali’
– Lousia Motha, Motala Heights Development Committee

The eThekweni Municipality’s ‘slum clearance’ programme is premised on systematic illegality. Contrary to the constitution evictions are carried out without court orders and without written warning; people are routinely not given a choice as to whether or not they want to be relocated (hence relocations are often forced removals); people routinely suffer damage to their property; the evictions are routinely carried out with casual violence and people are routinely left homeless. Shack owners are usually given relocation homes but tenants are most often left homeless. If you try and point out to the Municipality that their behaviour is illegal you are likely to be assaulted. This happened to Bheki Ngcobo from the Motala Heights settlement when he attempted to hand over a lawyer’s letter to the municipal security demolishing homes in his settlement early last month. He was pepper sprayed, knocked to the ground and kicked. It is clear that the Municipality’s rule is under the law rather than of the law when it comes to the poor.

But the tide in the eThekwini Municipality’s violent and illegal war on shack dwellers living in the city began to turn at on the 29th of November 14 families living in the Motala Heights shack settlement won an interdict in the Durban High Court preventing the eThekwini Municipality from evicting them. Three other shack settlements are also about to go to court and people rendered homeless in previous evictions are about to sue. Sutcliffe & Co. will now have to account to judges each time they unleash their brutality on the poor.

But the Municipality has promised to return to Motala Heights tomorrow. They haven’t said who they are after and, given their contempt for the law, it is feared that they may even demolish in violation of the interdict. But if they do respect the interdict there are still 30 families who aren’t protected by the court order. They are at serious risk. Municipal officials have also threatened to, as they have done elsewhere, destroy the toilets in an effort to force people out. Life for the 14 families protected by the court order has already become very difficult as more than 30 families who were left homeless are now crammed into the homes of those who escaped the first two attacks on the settlement. And many of the people removed to the housing development at Nazareth Island saw that they have been dumped in ‘formal jondolos’ too far from work and schools and insist that they will be coming back to Motala Heights.

Most people in the Motala Heights shack settlement strongly believe that local tycoon Ricky Govender is pushing the Municipality to evict all the shack dwellers so that he can continue to develop commercial housing projects for the middle class. Around 100 families in the nearby suburb of Motala Heights also face eviction from the houses where they are renting and also believe Ricky Govenders’ commercial ambitions are behind the threats that they have received. These tenants joined Abahlali a couple of months ago and are now working together closely. They say that many of the outbuildings and rooms they rent are no better than shacks.

Louisa Motha & Shamita Naidoo, stalwarts of the Motala Abahlali branch

Sibongile Thabete, with her daughter Zindle. They were left homeless after Sibongile couldn’t pay a R2000 bribe to get on the relocation housing list.

More photos at print quality available here.

For more information and updates on this tense situation please contact:
Lousia Motha – 0781760088; Shamita Naidoo – 0725793100; Bheki Ngcobo – 0793043461; Alson Mkhize – 0827608429