Category

Evictions

Nov 18
0

Eviction looms for victims of traditional leader’s land scam

By | Eviction news, Evictions

Reprinted from GroundUp, by Warren Mabona – 2024-11-14

  • Families who were illegally sold plots on municipal land in Mpumalanga by a traditional leader will soon be forced to vacate the properties.
  • The Middelburg High Court has ruled in favour of the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality, dismissing the traditional leader’s attempt to appeal an eviction order.
  • Judas Mahlangu, leader of the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Traditional Authority, has been selling off stands on municipal-owned land for at least R2,500 each since 2018.

The Middelburg High Court has ruled in favour of the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, ordering a group of people and the traditional leader who illegally sold them plots on municipal land to vacate properties.

The group have been ordered to leave the land by 31 October.

But many of the people still living in Magadangana Village say they have nowhere else to go. They say they spent what little money they had, or even took out loans, to build their homes there.

Judas Mahlangu, leader of the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Traditional Authority, has been selling off stands on the municipal land since 2018 for at least R2,500 each.

The battle between the municipality and Mahlangu has been ongoing for six years.

The area, officially known as the Farm Vlaklaagte, has no running water, electricity or road infrastructure. The people who bought stands from Mahlangu will be forced to leave as soon as the eviction order has been handed over to the sheriff of the court to execute, the municipality confirmed. This is after three failed legal attempts by Mahlangu to claim that he had a right to sell off the municipal land.

The Thembisile Hani municipality first found out in June 2019 that stands were being sold on its land. The land has been earmarked for the development of government housing.

The municipality went to court, and in February 2022 the Middleburg High Court interdicted Mahlangu and another man, Johannes Jiyane, from allocating stands. By then 175 sites had been “allocated”. According to some residents, Jiyane works with Mahlangu at the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Tribal Authority.

The municipality returned to court in January 2024, and Judge Mpopelele Bruce Langa ordered Mahlangu, Jiyane and those living on the land to leave by the end of April.

Mahlangu then filed an application to appeal against this ruling. On 23 August Judge Langa dismissed the appeal with costs. The judge said that leave to appeal should only be granted if the court is of the opinion that the appeal would have reasonable prospects of success or is arguable.

In rejecting the appeal, Judge Langa said that, among other things, Mahlangu had failed to prove his authority to bring the appeal on behalf of all of the people occupying the municipal land. “The fact that he may be the traditional leader in the area, did not give him the authority to act on behalf of the ‘community’ and institute legal proceedings without the resolution or consent by the community for him to do so,” he said.

Langa added that the court had made a factual finding that the municipality was the rightful owner and that there was not sufficient evidence that families had been on the land for more than six months before the initial litigation.

Nowhere to go

There are currently about 200 informal structures and brick homes on the land and a few larger brick and mortar houses are still being built.

Many of the residents GroundUp spoke to last week say they now live in fear daily of their imminent eviction.

Jabulani Ngema told GroundUp that he worries that he will be homeless for Christmas. He said he bought a stand from Mahlangu for R2,500 in 2021 and spent R5,000 on building material and furniture to construct his two-room shack.

“I am worried because I don’t know if the municipality will move us to another land.. I fear that the municipality will demolish my home and damage my building material when evicting us,” said Ngema. “Christmas is coming. I don’t want to be homeless.”

Ngema’s shack is on the outskirts of the site near a dam. He said moving out of the area would be a huge setback for him because he wants to start a vegetable garden and sell the produce to make a living.

Another resident owns a seven-roomed house on the site. He said he had spent more than R120,000 on his house so far. “I live with my wife and three children in this home and they love our house. If the municipality evicts and relocates us to another land, it will still be a big loss for me because I will have to spend more money building another house there.”

GroundUp sent questions to the spokesperson for Thembisile Hani Municipality, Simphiwe Mokako on 7 November 2024. Mokako said the court order had ordered the municipality to find alternative land, and “We have indicated that the municipality will abide by the court order.”

“The matter of the evictions is in the hands of the Sheriff.”

Mahlangu said he would not answer our questions before hanging up on us.

GroundUp also sent questions by email on 11 November to the Ndzundza-Mabhoko Traditional Authority but there was no response by the time of publication.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading:

Oct 31
0

Castle of Good Hope eviction ‘is happening soon’, says Cape Town mayor

By | Eviction news, Evictions

Reprinted from News24, by Marvin Charles – 2024-10-30

  • Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced the imminent eviction of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope during a council meeting on Wednesday.
  • The eviction date was initially set for 17 October, but more than ten days have passed since then.
  • The Department of Public Works obtained an eviction order in the Western Cape High Court in September.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the eviction of a group of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope in the CBD is imminent.

More than 10 days have passed since the eviction date, which was set for 17 October.

Responding to questions during a full council sitting on Wednesday, Hill-Lewis said: “Once Public Works obtained the eviction order, with the City supporting the eviction, it is carried out by the sheriff of the court.

“The date has been set for the eviction. Obviously it is confidential, but it is happening soon.”

Hill-Lewis said the eviction of the group of homeless people who have been staying outside the Castle of Good Hope would be an “important” milestone.

“That has been the site of really terrible dereliction and urban decay for the last four or five years, and it’s been a very difficult problem to solve,” he added.

“It is a source of great regret for me that it has taken this long.”

The mayor’s announcement comes after a fire broke out at the Castle on Wednesday morning, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

According to spokesperson for the City’s Fire and Rescue Service, Jermaine Carelse, the City’s firefighters responded to a call on Wednesday morning of structures alight in the vicinity of the Castle of Good Hope.

Three structures were destroyed, and five people were displaced.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

In September, the Western Cape High Court ordered that the group vacate the property by 17 October, following an eviction application from the national Department of Public Works.

According to the order, the City of Cape Town must provide alternative accommodation for the homeless people in safe spaces.

Hill-Lewis said there had been zero cooperation from two former public works ministers on the issue.

“Most residents usually accept the offer of alternative accommodation at the last minute when they are being evicted. It’s a sad thing because it could save us months in court if they accept the offer,” he said.

According to the City, the 358-year-old castle, which is a national heritage site, has seen a significant decline in visitors in recent times.

Living in makeshift tents, the homeless people have been using the moat that surrounds the castle for ablution purposes and dumping their waste.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading:

Oct 07
0

Single mother faces eviction threat after 30 years in family home

By | Eviction news, Evictions, Tenants

Shanaaz Dyason, 40, claims that the City of Cape Town is attempting to remove her from the house she has lived in for the past 30 years.

Reprinted from iol.co.za, by Marsha Dean – 2024-10-05

The property, located on Fir Tree Road, originally belonged to her parents, who were forcefully removed by the Apartheid government and relocated to flats in Lavender Hill.

In 1994, the family was permitted to return to their home, and since then, Dyason has resided there with her three children and grandchild.

Dyason has faced ongoing issues regarding the transfer of the house into her name for the past 14 years.

“When my parents got divorced, they both moved out of the house and went their separate ways. My mother and I then went to the rent office, and we explained that I still live in the house. They said the tenancy would be transferred over to me as I was of age,” she explained.

However, in 2010, Dyason received an eviction order, which threatened to send her back to Lavender Hill. The City offered her a one-bedroom flat in Plumstead, but she refused.

Later, she was taken to court, where the judge ruled that she was not illegal and was indeed eligible for the house, instructing the City to sign a lease with her.

“I signed a lease, but a couple of years later, the house is still not in my name. It’s been 14 years, and until today, nothing has been resolved,” Dyason lamented.

“My water keeps getting cut off, and I have to pay over R3000 just to have it reconnected, which consumes all the SASSA money meant for my children. I am paying R2300 a month for electricity to cover housing debt. Since the lease is not in my name, I cannot sort anything out. Every month, I go to the municipality, and they say the hold-up is with the rent office.”

Desperately, she stated, “I am at my wits’ end and don’t know what to do anymore. I have already lost my job because every month I need to stay out to go to the rent office and submit new papers.”

In response, Councillor Carl Pophaim, the Mayco Member for Human Settlements, stated, “The City can confirm that no eviction application is underway as alleged.

“The tenancy was allocated to Shanaaz Dyason, and she signed a lease agreement with the City on 21 September 2023. We encourage Mrs Dyason to visit her nearest City housing office to complete all the documentation needed to take ownership of the property.”

However, the City claims that the property address matter has been resolved and that the resident should visit her housing office as soon as possible.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading: