THE Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) caucus in the City of Joburg has defended their councillor Nkosikhona Khanyile, who was among the people arrested for the illegal occupations of buildings in the inner city.
This comes after 23 people were arrested on Wednesday, 5 September, as the City of Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda and the law enforcement agencies tried to tackle the illegal occupations of municipal properties following the deadly fire that claimed the lives of 77 people in Marshalltown.
City of Joburg spokeswoman Mlimandlela Ndamase said they bought a City Property building in Denver, Joburg for R40 million in 2019 for the Metro Police Department to use as a pound, but the building has been occupied illegally.
One of the people who was allegedly occupying the building was IFP councillor Khanyile.
But according to the IFP, his arrest was unlawful and unwarranted.
IFP caucus leader in Joburg, Mlungisi Mabaso, said they maintain that they do not condone acts of illegal occupation of land or property in the city, and they don't support the criminal syndicates that profit from these acts.
He said the party would not hesitate to take decisive action against people within their ranks suspected of wrongdoing.
“However, in this instance, we wish to clarify that the arrest of Khanyile was unwarranted and without merit. He has nothing to do with illegal occupations or hijacking city properties, as was alleged during his wrongful arrest.”
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“The councillor has since been released, as he was detained without any charge, which further proves that the arrest was unwarranted and based on fictional charges,” he said.
Mabaso said it is to be noted that Khanyile informed the MMC of Community Safety some time ago about the illegal occupation of the city’s land in Denver and also advised the affected community about the proper channels to follow to obtain a permit from the city to occupy any of its properties, as per his duties as a public servant.
“As the IFP, we have been unequivocal in calling for the city to reclaim its properties from syndicates that have illegally occupied them for years.
“While we support the clamping down on illegal occupations of the city’s properties, we also believe that these operations should not be done clumsily and carelessly, resulting in unwarranted and wrongful arrests like that of Khanyile,” said Mabaso.
