A fire at one of hundreds of hijacked building in Johannesburg has claimed nearly 100 lives. [Picture: Knews Media]
Attention has been recentered on hijacked buildings in downtown Johannesburg. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the call for a clamp down on criminal groups that have hijacked a number of buildings in the dilapidated area. He also acknowledged the need to provide suitable housing.
The president on Thursday evening visited the scene of a fire that claimed at least 74 lives, including 12 children, in Marshalltown. The blaze tore through the building on Thursday morning, although the cause is unknown.
“The lesson for us is that we have to address this problem and root out those criminal elements because it is these types of buildings that are taken over by criminals, who then levy rent to vulnerable people and families who need and want accommodation in the city,” he said.
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Hijacked buildings
It is understood that the five-storey building, owned by the City of Johannesburg, was at one stage a shelter for vulnerable women and children. However, it had in recent years become a multilevel squatter camp with illegal electricity connections.
This was not the only such building. In fact, former mayor Herman Mashaba – who was well-known for his crackdowns on hijacked buildings – said he identified more than 600 hijacked buildings between 2016 and 2019.
Now on the opposition benches, he accused the dominating African National Congress (ANC) and its coalition partners of permitting widespread hijacking of abandoned buildings.
“If you look at the number of hijacked abandoned buildings in the inner-city of Johannesburg … It’s now free for all. They are allowing international criminal syndicates working with them to destroy our city and our country.”
Hundreds of buildings were abandoned as the city experienced decline and capital flight in the post-apartheid era. Many of those were taken over by groups who rented them out to vulnerable people seeking housing closer to the city, as well as refugees and opportunists from elsewhere.
Prior attempts to crack down on the illegal occupation of buildings in the area have been slow. At times, they have been frustrated by civil society groups who have taken the City to court over evictions.
