HARDLY three months after getting their new RDP houses, owners are deserting them.
On the night of Monday, 11 July, a group of men arrived in more than three taxis to terrorise the new homeowners.
The men vandalised houses, hacked up furniture, burnt beds and broke doors. The owners, who were previously squatters in Everest, Springs, were chased away with pangas, knobkerries and bricks. They now want the Ekurhuleni Municipality to intervene.
Residents told Daily Sun the aggressive men wanted to know how they got the houses.
A resident said: “It’s surprising because we didn’t force our way into these houses. They were allocated by the municipality.”
According to the victims, the men were led by a man whose surname is Mkhize, who promised to return for those who refused to leave.
Another resident said: “We won’t be intimidated by them. We are the legitimate owners. If they didn’t make it to the list, it’s not our problem.”
Some residents chose to flee their houses while others stayed, saying they would not allow hooligans to take over.
A homeowner said: “We believe it could be backroom dwellers from Daveyton, who have already forced their way into RDP houses in Cloverdene and Mayfield.
“These houses belong to Everest and Gugulethu squatters. We have lived many years in squalid conditions while they chose to rent nice back rooms. We suffered and we deserve to be here.”
Municipal spokesman Zweli Dlamini said a crime was committed and police must open a case.
“We are sending our officials to assess the damage and we are not going to tolerate lawlessness,” he said.
Ekurhuleni Metro police spokeswoman Kelebogile Thepa urged the affected house owners to open cases.
“We can only arrest the suspects if they help us by opening cases,” she said.
