Cops flee angry mob of illegal shack dwellers

Defiant residents of Mahube Valley were embroiled in a violent fight with the Tshwanemetro police and Red Ants after a few of their shacks were demolished.

Pretoria - Shack dwellers in Mahube Valley, Mamelodi East, have vowed not to vacate the piece of land they have occupied illegally near the formal residential area.

They expressed their anger and frustration after a futile attempt by the “Red Ants” security guards to evict them on Tuesday.

Defiant residents of the informal settlement were embroiled in a violent fight with the metro police and Red Ants after a few of their shacks were demolished.

Out of anger and frustration, residents went berserk, throwing stones and empty bottles at the police and the Red Ants.

They also vented their frustration at residents living in nearby formal houses.

An eye-witness said the police tried in vain to keep the furious residents at bay by firing rubber bullets. The angry residents stood their ground and continued to pelt the police with stones until they fled the scene.

A resident from the formal settlement in Extension 1 said police ran away, while the shack dwellers gave chase in full view of bystanders.

Some formal houses in Steve Biko Street were damaged by the demonstrators who smashed their windows.

Plastic water meters outside the yards were vandalised. Water shot up in the air and flowed in the street. Some people locked themselves inside their houses as the angry mob went on the rampage.

Dwellers illegally occupied the land two weeks ago and put up their shacks.

They accused the nearby “people living in bonded houses” of having complained to the City of Tshwane that they were a nuisance.

One of the illegal occupants said the Red Ants found them still in bed; others were loitering in the streets. “When they evict us from here they should be able to accommodate us in the bond houses,” he said.

A house belonging to resident Mxolisi Mokwena was also targeted by the mob. He had gone to church when he was called by his domestic worker who told him about the attack.

“My domestic worker was speaking on the phone when she was attacked. Someone who attacked her suspected that she was calling for help,” he said.

An attacker went on to throw stones at the windows.

“My children were inside the house and they could have been hurt. I don’t know why they targeted this place,” he said.

He said the person who damaged the windows wasn't even part of the people who faced eviction.

City spokesman Lindela Mashigo said it wasn't safe to send the municipal workers to repair the damaged meters on Tuesday.

“We will wait until the situation is calmer and conducive to send city employees to fix the meters and restore water supply,” he said.

Attempts to get comment from metro police spokesman Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba weren't successful.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

Pretoria News