One of the houses that was demolished in Thornville, Pietermaritzburg, was built illegally on land belonging to Eskom.
Image: Bongani Hans
Millions of rand, including bank loans, went down the drain on Thursday when Eskom executed its court-ordered eviction to demolish hundreds of homes illegally built on its land in Thornville outside Pietermaritzburg.
One of the unfortunate residents, who is a police officer, used his three-week-old baby to plead for his houses to be spared, but it was to no avail.
Red Ant Security Relocation & Eviction Services officers went ahead to demolish the policeman's officer’s three houses and only spared the rondavel, where the baby was sleeping.
It was said that residents spent between R15,000 and R60,000 to buy plots of land from sellers who claimed ownership of the Eskom property. In addition, they spent up to R1 million building the structures and more money completing the interiors.
One resident was heard saying his house took him six months to build but was reduced to rubble in three minutes.
Some homeowners who were at work were alerted via the phone about what was happening, as the Red Ants used bolt cutters to pry bars and force their way into the homes, remove furniture before an excavator started the demolishing.
Some residents vented their frustrations and even threatened to assault journalists, but others agreed to speak only if they could remain anonymous.
Eskom’s subsidiary, National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), obtained the court order last year from the Pietermaritzburg High Court to demolish the houses built on its land near a power station.
Police intervene as angry residents try to stop the demolition of their houses.
Image: Bongani Hans
The order, which was dated July 14, 2025, instructed the illegal land occupants to dismantle their homes within 48 hours of receiving it.
On August 29, 2025, the court order, in English and isiZulu, was served, instructing the land invaders that should they fail to comply, the sheriff of the court will carry out the eviction.
On November 11, the sheriff attempted to conduct the evictions but backed off.
However, on Thursday, Eskom workers moved in, accompanied by large trucks, heavily armed police, and Red Ants officers.
There were also men wearing overalls, whose duty was to dismantle zinc shacks and also load debris and household appliances onto the trucks.
As the crew gathered outside the Thornville police station, some residents gathered, promising to fight with their lives to protect their homes.
They even tried to block the excavator from continuing with its work, but they were outnumbered by the police and Red Ants.
At about 9 am, a large cloud of dust was raised when the first house went down.
A house was reduced to rubble.
Image: Bongani Hans
The policeman became emotional when his house was felled, his wife refused to give her name said residents were caught off guard.
“We don’t know anything about the court order. Had we known, we were not going to spend our last money building this home.
“I have a one-week-old baby inside the house, and we don't know where to go for shelter,” said the wife.
A 46-year-old mother of three children, who also refused to share her name lost an eight-room house and rondavel. She also claimed to have received no warning about the eviction.
“I bought this land from someone for R60,000, and that person did not tell me who the real owner of the land was.
“I saw a plot on sale, and I bought it because she (seller) and others told me that the land belongs to them and that they acquired it through a land claim.”
She said after buying the plot, the seller gave her a piece of paper, which she was told was a title deed.
“Right now, I am confused as Eskom is not showing us a letter from the court as proof of the court order.
“They are not telling us when they give us three months' notice to allow us a chance to move out because as they are coming here now, we are not aware, and we have not even moved our things.”
She said she was at work when her children phoned to inform her about the demolition.
The woman stated that after spending R650,000 building the house, she had no prospect of finding more money to build another house elsewhere.
“This money was from my savings, while the other one was a personal loan.”
She said she feared that her two children would come back from Thornville Primary School to find their home destroyed.
A community leader, who declined to be named, said residents should have been given 30 days to vacate the land before the demolition started.
“There were discussions with Eskom, who said it was still going to check who occupied its land. But Eskom had abused its power by destroying people’s homes.
“Right now, we are going to court because we want Eskom to rebuild all these houses,” the leader said.
When contacted, the local councillor, Vincent Maphumulo said he was still too busy to talk.
The NTCSA issued a statement on Thursday, expressing regret for the circumstances that resulted in the demolition of unlawfully erected structures and dwellings.
“Despite repeated efforts to resolve the matter amicably, the NTCSA was ultimately left with no choice but to act in accordance with the law and the final court orders issued by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
“Unauthorised occupation not only poses significant public safety risks, but also delays implementation of the Transmission Development Plan (TDP), which is essential for strengthening the country’s power supply.
“This unlawful occupation is one of several challenges that the NTCSA faces in fulfilling its mandate to expand and secure the national grid,” read the statement.
A Richmond Municipality official, who is not allowed to speak to the media, said the residents were warned not to continue building houses on Eskom’s land.
“But they continued despite having been shown an eviction order, and we held numerous meetings where they were verbally warned,” the official said.