THE Windhoek City Police dismantled about 13 shacks and left 40 families homeless in Otjomuise’s 7de Laan informal settlement yesterday.
The affected people said they had not been warned of the impending police action, and had not been served with a court order instructing them to remove their illegal structures.
They also said the City Police came banging on their doors as early as 05h00, and started dismantling shacks while occupants were still waking up.
Some people said they had been staying in the area for three months, while others had only been there for two weeks.
The group’s spokesperson Penda Mulunga confirmed that police had taken down 13 shacks, and that more than 40 families were affected.
Mulunga also said the least police could have done was to have given them notice before dismantling the structures.
City police senior superintendent Gerry Shikesho said the illegal shacks were erected very recently because the area was under police monitoring daily.
According to him, the shacks had not been there on Sunday, and must have been erected on Monday.
“We have photos and records from our members who patrol the area to prove that these structures were not up the day before,” he said.
Shikesho stated that the City Police did not need a court order to remove illegal structures erected on city land.
He added that the affected people had been given ample time to dismantle their shacks, and had been warned that their materials would be confiscated if police did the dismantling.
Although the affected people claimed the City Police were selective when removing illegal shacks, Shikesho said there were technical reasons why some structures were not dismantled.
The City Police also confiscated the materials of some shacks, and the owners will not get them back.
Shikesho said some people were erecting shacks to rent out.
“I can go to my bank, get N$20 000, and put up a structure here and rent it out. It is a whole business. It needs to be done properly,” he stressed.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) activist Job Amupanda was also at the scene, and claimed the City Police action was illegal.
Shikesho, who had initially requested those affected to voluntarily dismantle their shacks so that their material would not be confiscated, said Amupanda became a distraction and caused some people not to cooperate.
Amupanda apparently referenced a proclamation which states that if there was a bed in a structure, it could not be dismantled without a court order.
“You must not be used by them to destroy your own house. How can you destroy your own house? They also have their own houses. Those police officers are testing us now. We can also destroy their houses the same way they are destroying our houses,” he said.
He added that the affected people should be compensated for any damage to their property as a result of the City Police action, maintaining his claim that the action was illegal.
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