Residents who lost their homes in a shack fire in Langa in 2005, toyi-toyi-ed outside Delft police station after one of their leaders were arrested.
|||Cape Town - Residents who lost their homes in a shack fire in Langa in 2005, toyi-toyi-ed this morning outside the Delft police station after one of their leaders was arrested.
Siviwe Nondonga was arrested by police because he was seen as a “trouble maker”, residents said.
It was unclear this morning if he had been formally charged.
“But, he is no different from the rest of the community, we are all frustrated. We are here to see him released without being charged,” said resident Florence Myeki.
Myeki, who has been living between tent camps, community halls and a temporary relocation area (TRA) in Delft, said the provincial and local government had not stuck to their promises to provide housing for those left homeless after the fire.
A blaze in Joe Slovo informal settlement left 1 600 families homeless in January 2005. A year later, the Cape Argus reported on the confusion of residents as they were moved into a temporary location in Delft.
“That was years ago. We all thought that we would be out and in new houses by now, but the structures are deteriorating badly and we recently heard the news that the council wants to move us into a new set of TRA structures that are being constructed on land that was supposed to be for real houses,” said Myeki.
She said residents would resist moving into another temporary location by taking their protests to the streets again this week.
Cape Argus