Zimbabwean Woman Barricades Herself Inside Disputed Cosmo City Property as ActionSA Arrives

• • A Zimbabwean woman barricaded herself inside a double-storey Cosmo City house when ActionSA members arrived during an operation on 17 July 2026
• • ActionSA's Herman Mashaba led the inspection targeting properties allegedly hijacked by foreign nationals in Johannesburg's north west
• • A resident claimed the woman took control of his late father's property and has been collecting around R18,000 a month in rental income

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

GAUTENG - A Zimbabwean woman reportedly barricaded herself inside a double-storey house in Cosmo City Extension 2 when ActionSA members arrived to inspect properties allegedly hijacked by foreign nationals.

The operation on Friday, 17 July 2026, was led by ActionSA's Johannesburg mayoral candidate Herman Mashaba, who was accompanied by the party's Member of the Mayoral Committee candidate for Human Settlements, Zandile Dabula.

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The group visited several RDP houses and properties that had reportedly been converted into rental accommodation in Cosmo City, northwest of Johannesburg.

When the delegation reached the double-storey property, the woman ran inside and refused to open the door despite repeated knocking from those outside.

Family provides more detail about disputed home

According to a resident of the area, Bruce Hlungwani (26), the dispute over the home began after his father died on 10 October 2024. He said the family later learned his father had been in a relationship with the Zimbabwean woman, with whom he had fathered a child.

"After my father's passing, I thought she was one of the people looking after the house. We welcomed her because she had a child with my father," Hlungwani said.

He alleged that tensions escalated when the woman began forcing out long-standing tenants, claiming that she was the owner of the house.

Hlungwani said the property contains more than 10 rental rooms generating roughly R18,000 per month, and that the woman had been collecting that income since his father's death.

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Reactions on social media

The incident drew strong reactions online, as South Africans shared their thoughts.

Thabiso M Brian said: "No illegal /legal foreigners are allowed to own RDP houses."

Sayco Ngobeni questioned:

"A Zimbabwean owning a house in South Africa?"

EmJay Nkone commented:

"So, this Zimbabwean woman feels like her privacy has been targeted in someone else’s house.”

Source: Briefly News