Alexandra Woman Forced to Watch As Community Demolished House Illegally Built on Top of Electricity Cables

• An Alexandra woman's house was demolished when angry residents took matters relating to electricity outages into their own hands
• Busiswe Gloria Mngcobo's home was torn apart because it was illegally built on top of electricity cables that City Power electricians need to access
• City Power spokesperson Issac Mangena said that overcrowding in the North Johannesburg township contributed to people building houses in prohibited areas

JOHANNESBURG - An Alexandra resident, Busiswe Gloria Mngcobo, was helpless to stop angry community members from tearing down the house she was living in.

The 14 April incident came after the area had been without electricity for days, and City Power technicians couldn't fix the problem because Mngcobo's house was built on top of the cables.

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Mngcobo, who was staying in the house with her family, said she had no idea the house was erected on top of electricity cables.

Mngcobo said:

"We were not aware until the councillor and City Power representatives alerted us. They said they wanted to fix power issues, and the cables were detected [under] our house."

Mngcobo said the family were given no notice that they had to vacate the premises, EWN reported

Mngcobo and her family allegedly stayed in the house for the past four years rent-free after the property owner took pity on them for their financial situation.

The unemployed woman will now have to find a new place to stay, which would cost her R900 in rent. Mngcobo said she must use her grandchildren's child support grant to cover the costs.

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City Power says overcrowding in Alexandra results in illegally erected houses

City Power spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, said overcrowding in the North Johannesburg township had created a situation where Alexandra residents were illegally building structures on prohibited land and open spaces.

Mangena said the people have built their houses close to pylons, which is unsafe to do, and also built on pavements where municipal servitudes like water, sewerage and electricity cables run.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Ward 107 Councillor told News24 that while demolishing houses was sad, the people who built the houses on top of municipal servitudes had done so illegally.

Johannesburg man fires gun in busy Alexandra Street, netizens show concern for safety

In another story about Alexandra, Briefly News wrote that a video of an unidentified man firing a gun in Joe Nhlanhla Street in Alexandra, Johannesburg, has surfaced in a Twitter post.

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He was recorded by, presumably, an acquaintance cajoling him into firing the extended mag weapon in the night while civilians roamed the streets.

"Ke batla wena! Ke batla wena," yelled the acquaintance while hyping him up.

Source: Briefly News