Mfuleni backyarders are still occupying a piece of land in Bardale and say they are not going anywhere. Photo by Masixole Feni.
16 January 2015
A group of about 100 Mfuleni backyarders who raised eyebrows in the community after erecting and moving into a tent in an open space, more than five months ago, say they are not going anywhere until they are heard.
GroundUp first covered their story in August 2014.
Yongama Folose, who leads the group, says they were evicted from Fountain Village in Mfuleni by landowner property developer MSP Developments, law enforcement, and the City’s Anti Land Invasion Unit in June last year, because they were occupying the land illegally.
MSP Developments received an interim interdict restraining the backyarders from occupying or invading the land, the property has been zoned and approved for residential property.
“There hasn’t been any progress in the matter, we went to court twice and both times our case has been postponed. We are now waiting for a new court date. But we are not going anywhere because we have nowhere to go,” said Folose. The evictees are arguing in court that they want to move back to Fountain Village, less than a five-minute walk from where their tent stands.
Folose said it was tough and they were constantly being “harassed” by the Anti Land Invasion Unit and law enforcement. “We now only erect the tent at around 5pm and bring it down the following morning at 7 or 8am because we are tired of land invasion and law enforcement confiscating our things and telling us to move away. During the day some of us are at our piece jobs and some are with relatives,” he said.
The eviction of the Mfuleni residents from Fountain Village is being investigated by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) after they toured the area in August.
SAHRC spokesperson Isaac Mangena said that a report from his institution “is pending and should be out soon.” He said, “In actual fact, the report will be a joint report which will include our findings and recommendations on Mfuleni, Lwandle, Joe Slovo and Marikana. And it’s simply because the issues involved and investigated are the same.”