Almost 20 women find themselves on the streets after being evicted from their homes in Malvern, in Johannesburg.
The residents claim to have been evicted by a private security company allegedly hired by well-known building hijackers in the area.
The City of Johannesburg says there is only so much they can do to intervene in private building disputes.
“I have been here since 2001, where am I supposed to go,” asks Patricia Sokela an evicted resident.
“So now what must we do and where must we go? We have been paying rates and taxes for this house,” adds another evicted resident Nompumelelo Buthelezi.
The residents accuse unknown men of trying to hijack the house, which they have been living in for the past 20 years.
The catch is the house does not belong to them either.
“The house belongs to someone who is deceased, we do not have a problem with moving out, but we want these people who want to take us out to do so legally,” says a resident Sandile Buthelezi.
Last year, Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba launched a campaign to determine the identities of the true owners of hijacked buildings.
For now, the residents wait to hear their fate, as a court battle over these houses looms.
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