THREE Ondangwa residents were left homeless yesterday after the town council ordered the removal of their shacks.
The town council ordered Shilimela Security Company to remove the shacks without warning to the owners.
The affected residents and various others had erected these structures without council’s consent.
The town council, through its spokesperson, Petrina Shitalangaho, said the shacks were removed to make way for the provision of services at Extension 24.
However, the work underway appears to be 300 to 400 metres away from the shacks when visited the site yesterday.
Shitalangaho said the shacks were erected yesterday, despite some of the inhabitants insisting that they had been there since 2007.
“I can confirm the three were removed today. We hired Shilimela Security because we are short of staff,” she added.
One of the affected residents, Ndapandula Vovo (30), who is a security guard, lives with three children aged 11, 12 and 13. The children all go to school.
Vovo said she built the shack for the children since they do not fit in the house.
“I feel bad because they tore my corrugated iron sheets. They did not even greet me, they just destroyed my iron sheets.
“I couldn’t believe it. I have nowhere to keep it for the night. I feel bad because they did not give us a warning. And when they came today..the security guards were armed, so we couldn’t interrupt their work.
Kristofina Shikongo (31) also had a shack destroyed.
“I feel bad; I don’t think I will eat today. In November 2018 … they wrote ‘illegal’ on it. In 2007, I moved here, as I was renting in a shack close by for N$200 per month. I had to create more room for my children so that they don’t sleep in the same room as I,” Shikongo said.
She pleaded with the town council to give “illegal dwellers “ a deadline to move their items so that they do not find themselves stranded.
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