President Ramaphosa’s call on South Africans to “stay safe and stay home” wasn’t heard in Johannesburg where the sheriff’s office has its hands full evicting tenants who have fallen behind with their rent and chucking them and their belongings on the streets.
In June it was the turn of 70-year-old Bellavista pensioner, Hennie Swarts, who has stayed with his family at the same address for 28 years.
When Swarts’ daughter approached the police, baby son in arms, to ask why the family was being evicted she was pepper-sprayed in the face, Swarts said.
“After so many years staying in the house, it took just a few minutes for 20 men in overalls to clear out all our family’s belonging and dump them on the sidewalk,” Swarts said.
The workers were accompanied by a strong detachment of police. Swarts said the family received no prior warning or notification.
GOOD Party representatives attended the scene while the eviction was in progress, describing it as a nightmare.
“The police insisted they were only there to protect the sheriff and his staff. They pepper sprayed a mother asking for clarity; then neighbours and passers-by crowded around and started looting the family’s possessions,” said GOOD Chairperson Sam Shabane.
“Do the people who carry out evictions not receive any training to reduce the potential for conflict and show a little basic human compassion,” Shabane asked. Asked for a copy of the eviction order, those who appeared to be in charge said they didn’t have it with them.
Subsequent investigation revealed that ownership of the house had changed hands without the family being informed.
Swarts believes that the house is the latest to be hijacked by a syndicate working in the area with links to the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO).
While taking statements from the Swarts family, the GOOD representatives were alerted to another eviction taking place in the nearby suburb of Turfontein, where a commune housing eight families were being evicted.
Some of these families had been paying rent while others had fallen on tough times, but those carrying out the evictions didn’t bother with distinctions.
Paying tenants rushed home to find their household contents on the street.
One of them called the landlord who apologised for the inconvenience and gave the assurance that paying tenants would be allowed back into the house.
Those who had stopped paying rent faced spending the winter night outside. While scrambling to protect their belongings, calls went out to shelters to look for alternative places to sleep.
But, in the middle of winter, with homelessness on the rise, shelters were over-full, and residents were left to sleep on the street.
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