Tenants of a building in Troyeville in Johannesburg have spent two days outside after they were evicted. They say officials who came to them with the police say the building has been hijacked and that it owes over R950 000 in unpaid electricity debt.
The tenants claim they have been paying rent to the building manager and that they have pre-paid electricity meters installed.
They say they were surprised when City Power officials told them that they do not recognise the meters.
According to City Power records, electricity has not been paid since September.
The tenants now approached the high court in Johannesburg for recourse.
Tenants leader Sikhanyiso Buthelezi claim the eviction notice used to remove them is fraudulent.
Buthelezi says they have been to court three time prior.
“Before this eviction letter they brought now, the last one was rejected by the court. But right now, we are suspecting that fraudulent {sic} from station commander Jeppe Police station and the owner of the building. And the manager called Alex. Because the eviction letter we’ve been served, its status says pending. Point 2, we suspect fraud because the eviction letter they are using is dated March 2023.”
