Acting Joburg Mayor Kenny Kunene to Tackle Hijacked Buildings in CBD, Mzansi Says It's a Publicity Stunt

• Acting City of Johannesburg Mayor Kenny Kunene wants to tackle the issue of hijacked buildings
• Kunene stated that these hijacked buildings are costing the city money and are a safety hazard for people who live there
• Some South Africans believe there is no point in evicting residents who live in hijacked buildings and accused Kunene of pulling a publicity stunt

JOHANNESBURG - City of Johannesburg's acting Mayor Kenny Kunene is hitting the ground running.

Kunene took over from previous executive mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, who has been accused of defrauding Soweto residents.

Kenny Kunene wants to reclaim hijacked buildings in Johannesburg

Kunene, who serves as the MMC for Transport, was in Johannesburg's central business district on Sunday, 14 May, to visit a hijacked building called Casa Mia in Berea.

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According to TimesLIVE, the acting mayor was joined by the MMC for Human Settlements and Public Safety. Kunene warned residents that paying rent to anyone other than the Johannesburg Social Housing Company is illegal.

Kunene called residents out for not naming the people who collect rent from them. The action mayor stated that he wants to end syndicates, but that can't be done because residents protect them.

"No one owns a room here. These belong to Joshco, but these satans take money from you, and you don't tell us who they are so we can arrest them,” Kunene said.

City of Johannesburg to start evictions at hijacked buildings

Kunene told residents that since they did not want to name the alleged criminals, they would return to the building on Monday, 15 May, for evictions.

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The acting mayor added that unemployed people and women with children would be provided with temporary housing.

Speaking on Newzroom Afrika, Kunene explained that these hijacked buildings are unsafe and pose a health risk to residents, especially children. He added that the City loses a lot of revenue because they do not collect rent and some buildings have illegal electricity connections.

Kunene added that residents living in nearby buildings have complained that hijacked buildings have become crime hotspots.

"People mug them, and they run into these buildings and cannot be found. We really have to act to make sure the safety of the people comes first," said Kunene.

South Africans think Kenny Kunene's decision to reclaim hijacked buildings is a publicity stunt

@lion_queeen said:

"This is a lousy publicity stunt and nothing more. He knows this is illegal and will be reversed, so it won’t make a difference, but he must be seen doing it."

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@Moyo2080 said:

"South Africa is a joke."

@KennMoila said:

"There were mayors before, Mayor Masondo, Mayor Tau, Mayor Mashaba and the late two mayors. Were they not aware of the situation? Was there an attempt to deal with the situation? Maybe the situation is bigger than the capacity of the mayors. Our security cluster should assist Joburg."

@jbashley29 said:

"Isn't it a little too late? Once things become the norm, it's difficult to normalise, like hijacking buildings. Also, is this the correct way of going about it?"

South Africans show no sympathy to foreign nationals evicted from hijacked building in Johannesburg

Briefly News previously reported that residents of a hijacked building in central Johannesburg say they no longer feel safe in South Africa after being evicted by people claiming to be Operation Dudula members.

However, South Africans have no compassion for the foreign nationals out in the streets because they also broke the law by living in that building.

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According to TimesLIVE, Lazarus Chinhara is one of the people evicted from Msibi House at the weekend and feels that South Africa is a "lawless country".

Source: Briefly News