Pretoria - Management of the Thembelihle Village low-cost housing in the CBD are at their wits’ end, with some residents allegedly inciting violence at the housing complex and disturbing the peace.
Yeast City Housing, the non-profit company which manages the property, for the second time in a month urgently turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in a bid to restore order.
It is a well-known company in the City of Tshwane which provides affordable social housing to vulnerable and low-income families.
At least 2500 people reside at Thembelihle Village.
The court earlier granted an interdict against two of the residents whom Yeast felt were the main culprits, interdicting them from disturbing the peace, intimidating and harming Yeast officials.
The court also ordered the police to intervene and arrest those who did not adhere to the court order.
Yeast said in its legal bid yesterday that the court order was simply ignored by some residents, who called it “a fake document”.
Yeast officials also expressed their dismay at the conduct of the police, who were called to the property when violence broke out yet again.
They said while some of the residents were threatening them and setting tyres alight, the only thing the police did was to escort one of the officials from the property to ensure his safety.
Yeast claimed that the main culprits were clearly seen on CCTV footage while instigating violence, yet the police did nothing to arrest them.
Two main culprits were earlier interdicted from violent behaviour at the complex.
But since the violence had escalated following the court order, Yeast added several other residents against whom they wanted a restraining order.
It asked that two residents be held in contempt of the previous order and either be jailed or fined if they continued instigating violence.
Yeast said in its first application that the threats and intimidation directed against its employees left them traumatised and in fear for their safety.
Ezekiel Ntakirutimana, Yeast housing manager, said in an affidavit that the employees were so traumatised that they had to receive counselling.
The problems started when some of the residents refused to pay for their service delivery bills since the Covid-19 lockdown and blocked Yeast workers from taking meter readings.
The situation is said to have got out of hand with threats of violence and intimidation and Yeast pleaded with the court to once again intervene.
The company said since the first interdict was issued, the violence escalated with (Kutumela) Mentor mobilising the residents via a loudspeaker to gather outside the property.
This, Yeast said, while the police simply did nothing.
Mentor, opposing the application, said there was proof via video footage that he and the others were not contravening the previous court order.
According to the residents, Yeast simply wants to get rid of Mentor because he is a community leader who is voicing their grievances with the housing company.
They also denied that any of them were involved in violent acts and said there was more behind Yeast’s application than met the eye.
The court yesterday added eight more residents to the application, whom Yeast claims were also troublemakers.
The application for possible eviction and the order to hold them in contempt of the previous order, will be heard in two weeks.
It is possible that the police will be added as a respondent to the new application, so that they could possibly also be held in contempt of court if they did not act to ensure peace at the development.
Pretoria News