On July 20 squatters who have been living illegally on an open piece of land across Planet Fitness gym in Montana were allegedly burned out of their shacks, according to them.
The open piece of land on the corner of Jeugd Street and Dr Swanepoel Drive, a known squatter area and one which Rekord reported on last week, has also recently been razed to the ground.
According to the squatters across from Planet Fitness gym, police along with men in civilian clothing, set the field alight.
“We were cooking when two police vehicles and two men in bakkies drove into the field and set the field on fire,” said some of the squatters who were still lingering there the next day.
The field seems to have been set on fire in patches where shacks were standing.
Councillor Arnold van Niekerk was on the scene the day after the fire and was horrified at what he saw.
“There are ways to go about doing things.
“Yes, the squatters are illegal but people can’t take the law into their own hands and start burning squatters out of their homes,” he says.
“I feel this is a humanitarian issue, at the end of the day we are all human beings. It is the middle of winter. These people lost their clothes, blankets and documents,” he says.
“This is illegal and shocking from a humanitarian perspective,” he says.
Not only are these fires affecting the squatters, they are also having a negative effect on residents in the area.
“A resident who lives in Jeugd Street had rats running onto his property, trying to escape the blaze,” he says.
According to the Sinoville police, the police are unaware of the incident and have not had any criminal charges made against the people who allegedly set the fields on fire.
“We aren’t aware of policemen or community members setting fields on fire,” says Sinoville police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Ben Strydom.
“We have also not received any complaints from squatters or community members regarding the fire across from the gym,” he says.
“People should not, under any circumstances, take the law into their own hands. If they have a problem, they need to come to the police so it can be sorted out within the boundaries of the law,” he says.
“The people who have been affected by the fires also have the right to come to the station and open a criminal case,” he says.
Vigilantism is not isolated to Sinoville and its surrounding areas, it is a problem that Rekord has been reporting on throughout Pretoria.
On July 26 Rekord East reported on shacks being broken down in Moreleta Park and on July 16 Rekord reported on community members who tried to burn residents out of their shacks in Wespark.
“People can’t take the law into their own hands. There are laws and procedures that have to be followed.
“We can’t let our communities fall into a state of anarchy. Something needs to be done, and fast,” says Cllr Van Niekerk.
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