A resident of Witsand in Atlantis claims she was forced to flee her home when a group of weapon-wielding people, allegedly from a nearby informal settlement, trashed her house.
Noluvo Tsule, 42, who uses her Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) house as both a home and a church, said her home had been trashed with bricks that destroyed furniture, walls and all the windows.
She had been inside when a crowd gathered and damaged her house.
"I was so shocked I did not know what to do. I ran out to the freeway and I just wanted to die.
"I thought they were going to kill me with the weapons they had," said Tsule.
The attack followed the demolition of shacks in the informal settlement by officials from the city's property control department on Wednesday. The shacks were destroyed after the settlement's residents allegedly reneged on a deal with local concillors to stop building more shacks so land could be kept to build proper houses on.
An official from property control, who did not want to be named, said they had destroyed about 20 shacks last Wednesday.
"Those were illegal extensions and we assigned people to destroy the shacks," he said.
Now the Witsand residents in RDP homes say they are living in fear as the shack dwellers have vowed to cause more damage.
The residents claimed that the shack dwellers said they would come at night to demolish their houses.
Last week the same crowd that trashed Tsule's home allegedly also burnt down a house used by the ward councillor, Lubabalo Yiba, as an office and targeted houses owned by residents who worked closely with the ward councillor.
The shack dwellers had allegedly claimed that Yiba had invited officials from Property Control to destroy their shacks.
Two houses were burnt down and five were damaged with bricks.
Except for Tsule, who has returned home, all the other residents whose houses were damaged fled in fear that the attackers might return.
Thobinceba Tshabiso, a relative of a man who works for Property Control and whose house also came under attack, said it was better if his cousin left Witsand because it was too dangerous.
"He is in hiding because I just knew he would die here because these people are violent and nothing stops them, not even the police," said the 37-year old.
A firm believer in God, Tsule said she had now given up everything to her faith and could not keep on asking neighbours for a place to sleep.
"This is my house.
"I did nothing to them (the shack dwellers) and I know I'm not guilty of anything," said Tsule.
- Cape Argus
Noluvo Tsule, 42, who uses her Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) house as both a home and a church, said her home had been trashed with bricks that destroyed furniture, walls and all the windows.
She had been inside when a crowd gathered and damaged her house.
"I was so shocked I did not know what to do. I ran out to the freeway and I just wanted to die.
"I thought they were going to kill me with the weapons they had," said Tsule.
The attack followed the demolition of shacks in the informal settlement by officials from the city's property control department on Wednesday. The shacks were destroyed after the settlement's residents allegedly reneged on a deal with local concillors to stop building more shacks so land could be kept to build proper houses on.
An official from property control, who did not want to be named, said they had destroyed about 20 shacks last Wednesday.
"Those were illegal extensions and we assigned people to destroy the shacks," he said.
Now the Witsand residents in RDP homes say they are living in fear as the shack dwellers have vowed to cause more damage.
The residents claimed that the shack dwellers said they would come at night to demolish their houses.
Last week the same crowd that trashed Tsule's home allegedly also burnt down a house used by the ward councillor, Lubabalo Yiba, as an office and targeted houses owned by residents who worked closely with the ward councillor.
The shack dwellers had allegedly claimed that Yiba had invited officials from Property Control to destroy their shacks.
Two houses were burnt down and five were damaged with bricks.
Except for Tsule, who has returned home, all the other residents whose houses were damaged fled in fear that the attackers might return.
Thobinceba Tshabiso, a relative of a man who works for Property Control and whose house also came under attack, said it was better if his cousin left Witsand because it was too dangerous.
"He is in hiding because I just knew he would die here because these people are violent and nothing stops them, not even the police," said the 37-year old.
A firm believer in God, Tsule said she had now given up everything to her faith and could not keep on asking neighbours for a place to sleep.
"This is my house.
"I did nothing to them (the shack dwellers) and I know I'm not guilty of anything," said Tsule.
- Cape Argus
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