Ald Grandi Theunissen
The City of Tshwane is concerned about the violence that erupted in the wake of an eviction in Olievenhoutbosch that was carried out by a private service provider on private property on Monday, 30 January 2023. The eviction was carried out after the community obtained a court order and appointed a service provider to assist.
Following threats of arson and violence after the eviction, I, as the MMC for Community Safety, and Cllr Wakelin, MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, visited the area on Monday evening to attend the South African Police Service (SAPS) briefing and parade. Luckily, a considerable and effective SAPS deployment supported by the Tshwane Metro Police Department’s (TMPD) Crowd Control Unit managed to prevent any unrest during the night.
Although no further incidents have been reported since, the situation remains tense as there is a lot of finger-pointing between all parties involved. On our part as the Community Safety Cluster, we are engaging everyone in order to determine the way forward. This includes investigating reports that many of the structures that have been built have been unoccupied since.
In the meantime, I want to call on all parties involved to refrain from acts of intimidation, threats and violence. I also want to appeal to our communities to stop the spread of unverified information which often leads to heightened tensions and unnecessary panic.
The SAPS and TMPD will continue to monitor the situation closely to prevent any further violence and damage to property. To report incidents of violence, you can call the SAPS on 10111 or the TMPD on 012 358 7095/7096.
Our multiparty coalition government would like to call on the community of Olievenhoutbosch to constructively engage with the City on housing and service delivery matters. Trusting opportunistic political parties who make empty promises will only lead to further anger, frustration and disappointment.