03 May 2021 - 06:00
Ongoing residential disputes in the impoverished southern Johannesburg area of Bellavista have caused chaos among residents.
A self-appointed community committee consisting of about 70 members has allegedly been evicting flat-owners in the area, then placing other community members in local council-owned flats.
The committee has allegedly evicted 15 families.
Flat owner Samantha Janse van Rensburg says a large group of people came to evict her the night she moved in with her two children.
“They threatened me and told me if I don t go they ll burn my kids,” she said.
One of the committee’s leaders, Ruth Wells, says the allegations are fabricated.