Rubber bullets used to stop shack building at Lindelani

Durban - The eThekwini Land Invasion Unit used rubber bullets to ­disperse of group of people who tried to build shacks on an open piece of land at Lindelani, north of Durban, on Thursday.

The confrontation occurred early on Thursday morning after scores of residents tried to erect structures on a vacant piece of land, claiming that their RDP houses were “too small” and overcrowded.

But the land invasion unit prevented the residents from erecting illegal shacks.

Thembisile Mkhize, 64, who lives with her six children in a three-room RDP house, said they were asked by the councillor to clear the vacant land of bush, as it had become a hideout for criminals.

“We asked permission to build our shacks on the land from the councillor, but she said she would get back to us. We then saw other residents building their shacks, so then we also came to build ours,” said Mkhize. She said as residents were not allowed to build shacks on the property of their RDP homes, they had decided to build the shacks on the vacant land.

Another resident, Gugu ­Ngwane, 35, who lives with her four children in a home she rents nearby, said her landlord had recently evicted her, so she decided to build a shack.

“I reported to the councillor that I needed a place to stay, and she said she can’t help me, that’s why I decided to build a shack,” she said.

The residents said they once found a human head without a body while they were clearing out the vacant land.

Local councillor Mbuyiselwa Sibiya said she tried to stop building of the shacks.

“Yesterday I sent my people to inform the residents that they should stop building their shacks in the municipal land. Every family has an issue of big numbers of family members, but they don’t break the law,” said Sibiya.