Johannesburg - The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri) has lambasted Patriotic Alliance (PA) councillor Kenny Kunene for his unlawful and inhumane eviction of illegal occupants in some of the City of Joburg’s abandoned buildings.
Kunene, who was holding the fort on behalf of Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda on Sunday and Monday, surprised many when he went on an eviction spree across some of the city’s dilapidated buildings, which house some of the city's poorest citizens.
Kunene, the deputy president of the PA, was appointed acting mayor for two days while the recently elected mayor was out of town on official business and took it upon himself to raid "unsafe" buildings in the city. Many have criticised Kunene for his heavy-handed approach to the crisis.
In an interview with Newzroom Afrika ahead of the raids, Kunene said the City of Joburg was also concerned that criminals often used the hijacked buildings as hideouts.
"Once you hijack a building, you have committed a crime. The word ‘hijack’ means you have occupied that building illegally. When you are now being removed, you want to use the law to say there is a process of removing people.
"Those buildings have got traps, booby traps, inside them. As you are walking, there are drains that you cannot even see. It’s so dark in those buildings," he said.
Seri spokesperson Edward Molopi accused Kunene of raiding and evicting people without a proper court order.
"On Monday, May 15, 2023, the acting mayor and his team raided buildings in Johannesburg. During these raids, the team conducted searches, threatened to evict residents, and were recorded demolishing one building in Windsor East, all without any authorising court order," Molopi said.
Molopi said the non-profit organisation, which strongly believes in human rights, was appalled by Kunene’s actions, which affected the poorest citizens of the city.
"Of utmost concern is the fact that these unlawful raids predominantly affect the same people who have previously endured victimisation under different mayoral regimes. In response to their suffering under former mayor Herman Mashaba, these residents sought recourse from the Constitutional Court," Seri said.
The Star