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Johannesburg – An Alexandra man who was forcibly evicted from his RDP home by members of a local mob claiming property was irregularly assigned to him because he is a foreigner lives in constant fear of being returned to evict him.
Joseph Modiba, originally from Limpopo, and his wife, Nkensani Martha Maluleke, were evicted from the home on July 25 by the gang that had been harassing them since last year.
The gang is called Dudula (sweep clean) and is reportedly becoming a threat in Alexandra.
The couple have not known peace since they returned their belongings and took over the occupation of the two-bedroom house that was legally assigned to them by the Johannesburg City Housing Department on June 7, 2010.
The house was handed over to Maluleke, speaking Tsonga, from Giyani.
The mob, allegedly run by a man known only as Lebogang, claims that Maluleke is from Mozambique.
The family has the official documents to prove their legitimate right to the house. The aggressors have no one to back up their story.
After each attack, the Alexandra local police station reportedly failed to act and told Modiba that “no one has died.” She has filed charges with Alexandra police, none of which have been prosecuted, she said.
He said he opened a case last December. Nothing happened. In July 2020, he opened another against the mafia. There is no police action yet. And one more …
Modiba said that on July 28 he sent an emergency message to the station commander, Brigadier Lindiwe Magudulela. She did not answer. On August 25, Magudulela sent Modiba a WhatsApp message asking if he was safe.
Contacted for comment, Brigadier Magudulela said she was aware of the problems caused by Dudula as “he is evicting people.”
She insisted that no case filed with her station went unheeded.
Modiba says that every time the Dudula group passes him or the house, the thugs threaten to shoot him. One of your children has a serious medical problem and has a catheter attached to his stomach.
When the mob evicted the family from the house, Modiba had to sleep outside in the car with his family as he struggled to regain occupation of their property.
Modiba says he has done everything a law-abiding citizen can to obtain redress, including writing to the radio station Thobela FM from Polokwane in his native Sepedi for help.
Modiba says he sleeps with one eye on the door in case his torturers decide to attack him and his family. At his wits end, he has contacted the provincial SAPS.
Modiba cries for the discomfort this drama is causing her children, who are afraid to go out and play. “This cannot be correct,” says Modiba, a driver for a Sandton car dealership.
While Alexandra police took no action against Lebogang, the provincial SAPS swooped in to make arrests. Investigative Officer Sergeant Sabelo Mkhatshwa of the newly created SAPS Illicit Business Forum, tasked with monitoring illegal evictions, said he made three arrests shortly after addressing the matter.
The case was postponed until Wednesday.
Independent sunday
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