Tenants 'also have rights'

Gauteng MEC for human settlements Jacob Mamabolo is planning to take a test case to court to protect the rights of people evicted from their home.

Mamabolo expressed unhappiness at how women, children and people with a disability were treated during evictions.

"Those residents still have rights. The fact that they are in debt does not mean their rights do not matter. The question is what does the court say about their rights.

"Practical experiences have proved that just issuing an eviction order is not adequate to ensure that everyone's rights are protected, not just the property owner's. We need to hear what the court says about that.

"We have appointed senior counsel to bring the case to court about how we deal with the rights of vulnerable groups during evictions. The issue is not providing alternative accommodation. The point we are making is how do we make sure that, during an eviction, the rights of vulnerable groups are protected."

Last month 1500 people were left in the streets after being evicted from Williston Court, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. The eviction was said to be necessary to allow the new owners of the dilapidated building to refurbish it and make it safe for habitation.

Scores of impoverished residents, including women and their children, wept as they watched their possessions being thrown into the streets by the Red Ants.

When property owners want to evict tenants they have to secure an order of court. As most tenants resist eviction, the Red Ants are often contracted to enforce the execution of the eviction order.

But attorney Louise du Plessis, of NGO Lawyers for Human Rights, said people who were not properly trained Red Ants were sometimes employed. The violence they used in evictions was unacceptable and probably unlawful, Du Plessis said.

Nigel Branken, an activist who lives in the inner city, said the evicting companies "act like a private militia".