Category Archives: Graeme Hosken

Pretoria News: Flames of fury in Tshwane

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http://www.pretorianews.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20100312041237100C374155

Flames of fury in Tshwane
12 March 2010, 07:44

By Mogomotsi Magome, Graeme Hosken and Patrick Hlahla

Tshwane experienced its third service delivery protest of the week; this time in informal settlements outside Atteridgeville.

Police and soldiers patrolled the streets on Thursday as the protest – once again over the lack of housing and services – turned violent.

But speaking in the city, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said the fact that South Africa was a democratic country did not mean disgruntled citizens could do what they want.

She said government was aware of genuine grievances which had to be attended to, but warned protesters against infringing other people’s rights and said destroying communal facilities hurt no one more than the protesters themselves.

“What they destroy belongs to their communities. This kind of behaviour results in government having to spend repeatedly the sparse resources on the same projects or facilities,” she told the National Press Club.

She accused those who organised some of the protests as having ulterior motives, adding it was particularly hurtful for her to see children who should be in school taking part in protests.

On Monday and Tuesday there were similar service delivery protests in Soshanguve and Mamelodi ahead of executive mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa’s state of the city address.

On Thursday police evacuated Somali business owners in the informal settlements of Phomolong, Vergenoeg and Brazzaville as criminals taking advantage of the situation looted their spaza shops.

In an unusual move, members of the SA National Defence Force, believed to be paratroopers, patrolled barricaded streets where tyres had been set on fire.

The last time they were deployed in township unrest was during the xenophobic violence of 2008. SANDF spokeswoman Brigadier-General Marthie Visser could not say why soldiers were in the area.

While some have seen the move as a sign of tougher steps being taken to ensure that service delivery protests do not turn violent, others speculated it could be about preparation for the World Cup.

A planned march in the Atteridgeville area was called off at the last minute, but poor communication by community leaders was blamed for the mayhem which followed.

Residents overturned and burnt rubbish bins, made fires in old tyres and threw stones at police. Police retaliated, firing rubber bullets to disperse the crowd and seeking out those taking advantage of the situation to steal from spaza shops.

Police spokeswoman Captain Tessa Jansen said police would remain in Atteridgeville for as long as necessary. She said 11 people had been arrested for looting and for malicious damage to property.

Abdul Hassan, of the Somali Association of South Africa, said they had been advised by police to evacuate the area.

“At first the police were outnumbered, but they managed to bring in reinforcements and the people stopped what they were doing.

“We were mostly concerned about the shop owners deep inside the informal settlements,” said Hassan.

Moriti Phasha, a resident of Mshenguville informal settlement for nearly 10 years, said they were tired of empty promises from politicians.

“I have voted three times since I moved here, but we still do not have any electricity in this place. People are really angry about what is happening around here,” said Phasha.

He denied that the majority of residents had any intention of looting and said those who did were criminals.

“We were involved in the reintegration of the foreigners back into the township after the xenophobic attacks, so we cannot loot their shops and chase them out,” he said.

Gauteng Civic Association (GCA), an Atteridgeville-based community organisation, said it had called off the planned march to the Housing Department after they met housing officials who assured them their grievances would be addressed.

* This article was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on March 12, 2010

Pretoria News: ‘We are people not animals’

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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20100112042213139C950033

By Graeme Hosken
Crime Reporter

Waving a hammer above her head and screaming and hurling abuse as a group of specialist shack demolition operators smashed down the walls of her home, Itireleng resident Agnes Monyebodi burst into tears when her plates and kitchen table were broken.

“Why are they doing this? Why are they breaking my stuff? I have done nothing to these people yet they are breaking my home and destroying my property,” she said, as she frantically tried to pick up her children’s clothes from beneath the demolishers feet.

A hysterical Monyebodi was among thousands of Itireleng residents, who yesterday clashed with police in running battles in the settlement, barricading dirt roads with burning tyres, wood and metal as demolishers broke down their homes in a mass eviction.

Eventually restrained by a neighbour, Monyebodi, fighting back tears, vowed that she would not move. “I will come back here. No one has shown me any letter that says I cannot live here. If I cannot live here then where must I live?

“If government does not want us to live here and they do not give us houses then we will take houses, either from the foreigners, whose houses have not been broken down, or from the people living in Laudium,” she said.

As Monyebodi screamed at demolition squads armed with crowbars and iron poles, Stephan Malatji, a neighbour, sat dejected in a garden chair, his head in his hands, resigned to the fact that there was nothing he could do to stop the demolishers from tearing down his home.

With his mattress, TV, fridge and children’s clothes scattered around him, Malatji, said he was at a loss.

“What am I going to do? Where am I going to live? What are my children going to eat?” he asked as dozens of people frantically carried beds, mattresses and sheets of metal past him to friends living in the formal section of Itireleng.

For Malatji’s wife, Flora, the demolition was too much and she burst into tears as the walls of her house were broken down.

“I can’t understand it. This does not make sense. We are people not animals. Why do they have to treat us like this?” she asked.

For Jescina Mohale, of Polokwane, whose meagre belongings fitted into two suitcases, the demolition has left her angry.

“I do not know why they have done this. These people should be ashamed. Our children are now homeless and we are destitute.

“The government has taken away our houses so now they must give us new houses. We are angry and we are not going to just go away.

“We will stay here for as long as it takes to get a house, even if it means we will die,” she said.

Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) spokesman, Kevin Odendaal, said while they had enjoyed a good relationship with the Itireleng informal settlement residents, problems arose in July with the deliberate illegal expansion of the settlement in an attempt “to force the municipality into action” over the availability of land.

“This expansion spilled onto PPC’s mining property. PPC held meetings with community and municipal representatives to resolve this issue, but none were successful and the shacks increased.

“Not only is PPC concerned about the invasion, but also about the safety of the community as Mooiplaas is a sizeable operation utilising large mining equipment and explosives,” he said.

Odendaal said: “In October an initial eviction order, which gave illegal occupants the opportunity to voluntarily vacate PPC property was given, but to date, they have not complied with the order. PPC tried all avenues to resolve this issue amicably but to no avail.”

* This article was originally published on page 3 of Pretoria News on January 12, 2010

Pretoria News: Three-month-old baby dies in shack fire

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http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080409054540301C857002

Pretoria News 9/4/2008

Three-month-old baby dies in shack fire

Staring blankly at his hands, Mamelodi resident Matthew Skosana shakes his head, trying desperately to understand why he couldn’t save three-month-old Lebogang Mashido from burning to death in a shack fire.

The fire left Lebogang’s brother, Blessing, 2, and sister, Mmatsjie, 3, seriously injured in Pretoria Academic Hospital.

They are believed to have sustained second and third-degree burns.

The three were alone in their Phomolong shack while their mother, Mamsie Mashido, went to fetch water to wash the dishes. The tap is less than 50m away from the shack.

The shack was engulfed in flames within minutes of her leaving.

Their screams alerted neighbours, who bravely fought the flames with water and blankets, dashing into the blazing shack in a bid to rescue the children.

Skosana will remember the screams forever.

According to neighbours he ran into the house twice in an attempt to pull out the three children from their burning home.

When the flames became too much, he tried to kick down the shack wall separating him from Lebogang.

“He tried everything. He was so brave. When he heard the baby screaming, he tried to kick down the shack wall, but it was too hot. He blames himself.

“You can see he blames himself for not rescuing the little baby,” said Joyce Mabula.

Skosana, when approached for comment, would only say: “I can still hear their screams. I can still hear the baby crying.”

Lebogang’s father, Duncan Maila, was at work when his wife called him to tell him what had happened.

“I didn’t know what to think. I thought that all my babies were dead.

“I didn’t know what I was going to find,” he said while comforted by social workers.

He said he didn’t know how the fire had started.

“I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if it is from a fire or a stove.

“I don’t know what to do. I am so sad. My world has ended.

“We have nowhere to go. No food, no clothing, nothing. My baby is dead. My other children are dying. What am I meant to do?”

Maila said although the community was coming forward to help, it wouldn’t bring back Lebogang.

He is convinced that if they had proper houses with fresh running water the tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

“If the council gave us houses, this would not happen. It is dangerous here. Our children are dying, but the council does nothing.”

However, local councillor Fatima Kgashane said the residents were land invaders and were not entitled to live there.

“This land belongs to Transnet. We are negotiating to buy the land so that we can provide these people with proper housing and services,” she said.

Pretoria Academic Hospital spokesperson Fredah Kobo confirmed that Blessing and his sister Mmatsjie had been admitted.

“Both are in a very serious condition at this stage,” she said.

Police said an inquest docket had been opened into Lebogang’s death.

The mother was too distraught to speak to the Pretoria News.

Pretoria News: Mamelodi all geared up for showdown with cops

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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=124&art_id=vn20070619050250637C875452

June 19 2007 at 10:27AM

Hundreds of Mamelodi residents are bracing themselves for a showdown with police and council officials ahead of planned evictions.

Barricading roads with rocks and burnt-out car wrecks on Monday, Lusaka residents say they will not move.

“We have heard that the council is coming for us. Our response is let them come. We are ready for them and will fight them.”

This was the warning by several Lusaka residents following Friday’s violent clashes with council-hired shack demolition men.

‘We will be providing support to the affected communities’

The running battles left a guard dead, eight others injured and seven residents behind bars for the weekend.

The guard from the security firm Gaman 12 was killed and eight others were injured after residents turned on them.

The crowd also torched a truck and three bakkies belonging to the security company during the bloody confrontation.

The warnings by residents come as the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) pledged it support for residents of Lusaka.

The organisation said that it would be mobilising the township’s communities to stop the evictions.

‘Our view is that government cannot just evict people and throw them out’

Sanco provincial secretary Toenka Matila said the organisation would be opposing the evictions by mobilising communities to stop the evictions.

“We will be providing support to the affected communities by ensuring that government provides them with alternative accommodation should their houses be demolished.

“Our view is that government cannot just evict people and throw them out on the streets,” he said.

Matila said government should provide housing for people who have been occupying land for more than three months.

“Government should have provided housing for the people in the Lusaka section of Mamelodi a long time ago.

“People living in Lusaka have been living there for years. A lot of promises were made to them years ago which need to be kept.

“The promises were that the area would be developed and that housing would be made available for those living there,” said Matila.

He said Sanco’s position was that it was urging government not to evict people. If it did it should be providing those who were evicted with alternative housing.

“Government is aware that the majority of those living in these areas are either unemployed or under-employed and are earning well below the poverty line.

“We therefore believe that the only way to avoid conflict is by talking to them and providing them with new and proper homes,” he said.

Jean du Plessis, acting executive director of the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, said the challenges facing urban centres in South Africa called for creative solutions by the relevant local authorities.

“The first response to poor people finding a place to live in desperation should not be to evict them.

“Forced evictions in our experience are not only morally and legally wrong, but also counterproductive to development.

“We call on the city of Pretoria to meet the people concerned and find mutually acceptable solutions.

“These would be in line with the requirements of the constitution and also international law,” he said.

Mayoral committee member for housing Absalom Ditshoke said the council’s programme of removing people in the affected area remained.

“We are going to remove these people because the area they are living in is unsafe. We have said so previously,” he said.

Ditshoke said the area where the people were living was unsafe as it was on the Magaliesberg slopes.

“If there are heavy rains the people will suffer. We are trying to prevent a disaster before it occurs,” he said.

Ditshoke said: “We want the message to be clear. People cannot live in that area.

“We are giving them the opportunity to remove themselves from the area, failing which we will remove them from the land.

“Land invasion is not an option. The issue remains: they have to move – whether it is voluntarily or whether it is through eviction.

“We have been granted a court order to evict the people and we will use it if needs be.

“We are available for discussions and are prepared to listen to the residents or any organisation’s concerns, but regardless of what they are these people have to move,” Ditshoke said.

Soshanguve still on edge after battles with police

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http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=3062670
Soshanguve still on edge after battles with police January 12, 2006

By Graeme Hosken

A tense calm descended on Soshanguve late yesterday as pockets of angry residents were still caught in a standoff with police.

This follows violent clashes and running street battles in the township, 25km north-west of Pretoria. Thousands of people took to the streets early yesterday, barricading several roads leading into the township with uprooted trees, boulders and burning tyres, in protest over a lack of service delivery.

The clashes saw protesters hurling stones at security personnel, who responded by firing rubber bullets, wounding several people.

Several policemen were injured when rioters stoned their vehicle as they tried to disperse a crowd trying to barricade a road with burning tyres.

Police spokesperson Inspector Lucas Sithole said: “We have a strong police presence and have stepped up patrols in the area to ensure there is no more trouble.” He also confirmed that a police sergeant was in a serious but stable condition after being hit on the neck by a stone.

Sithole said five people had been arrested and would appear in court on charges of public violence and malicious damage to property.

The protests, which saw 10 areas inside the township being blocked off, lasted more than 12 hours. The battles left hundreds of commuters and schoolchildren stranded, because taxis and buses were prevented from entering the area.

Angry residents demanded that the Tshwane Metro Council immediately develop essential services such as running water, sanitation, refuse removal and electricity in their areas.

Resident Daniel Ndlovu said: “The council thinks that because we are poor and live in underprivileged areas they do not have to provide running water and electricity.” Ndlovu, a community representative in Soshanguve’s Block P, one of the areas barricaded by rioters, added: “It is so simple. All we are demanding is what we have been promised for the past 13 years …

“If they do not, then we will bring chaos and anarchy to Pretoria.”
Mayoral representative Elias Motloutse confirmed that they had agreed to meet with community representatives today to try to find a way of overcoming the problems and stemming the violence.

“We have assured residents that plans are under way too start developing the different areas so that they can be provided with the services they require,” he said.