THERE is war in Khayelitsha as the residents of Mandela Park fight over a piece of land in their kasi.
Residents from Siyakhana informal settlement, which is opposite Mandela Park informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town said they are being threatened by residents from formal houses in the area.
They claim the problem started in June 2023. Residents from Siyakhana informal settlement said they occupied the place in 2020 at the peak of Covid-19.
Now they're accusing residents from nearby formal houses of making their lives a living hell.
Residents of Siyakhana said on Thursday, 24 August, a shack was demolished in the middle of the night while the owner was inside.
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A backyard dweller allegedly poured another man's shack with petrol, but Siyakhana residents saw them before they could set the shack on fire.
"They told us to leave and go back where we came from because the space is meant for their houses. They claim the place is meant for houses for backyard residents who happen to be their kids," said a resident.
A street committee member from the formal houses and backyard residents said when the squatters started the Siyakhana informal settlement, they knew that the open space was meant for housing development.
"We told them to leave because houses are going to be built there and they agreed. But to my surprise, there are some who do not want to go," said the street committee member.
Mthwalo Mkhutswana, a councillor from the area, said he was aware of the situation. He said he had met the residents and explained to them that people would have to move as the place was meant for development.
"I explained to them that the money allocated can be used for other things if the project cannot get off the ground because the place is occupied. The residents assured me that the place will be vacated as the people living there are their children," he said.
