Squatters who protested their eviction from an illegal settlement by burning tyres and throwing stones early on Wednesday had calmed down and stopped offering resistance by mid-afternoon, said Ekurhuleni metro police.
About 600 ”Red Ants” moved into the Angelo informal settlement in Lilianton, Boksburg, at 6am to demolish about 6 000 shacks housing 18 000 to 20 000 people, said metro police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago.
They were ”well past the halfway mark” by 2pm, he said.
The sporadic protests of earlier in the morning had stopped and the angry crowds had dispersed, with only a couple of thousand people still milling around watching the demolition.
If the job was not completed by 5pm, work would be suspended overnight and would start again on Thursday, said Kgasago.
The ”Red Ants” — nicknamed for their red overalls — usually help the sheriff of the court execute court orders.
Kgasago said squatters received eviction notices three months ago when a court order approving their evictions was granted. Only a fraction had complied.
”They were hoping we would not show up.”
He said the squatters were being given an opportunity to remove their personal possessions from the shacks before they were demolished.
The corrugated iron, support posts and all other parts of the shacks will be removed to a yard for storage.
If the squatters want the material back, they will have to go there and claim it, which they do not normally do, he said. Should it not be claimed after a certain period, it will be destroyed or used for other purposes, he added.
Germiston protest
A separate protest over housing in Germiston was over by 9.15am, said East Rand police spokesperson, Captain Thobile Xakeka.
The group of about 50 residents from an informal settlement next to nearby Buhle Park had used burning tyres to barricade the intersection of Osborn and Nitrogen roads in Wadeville.
While it was initially reported the protest was labour-related, demonstrators apparently told police they were unhappy about the council’s non-delivery of promised housing.
Xakeka said police had monitored the protest and the fire department had extinguished the blazing tyres. No one was injured and no arrests were made, he said. — Sapa