Seven women arrested during Uitenhage eviction protests

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says the residents who took to the streets to protest their eviction from a piece of land in Lapland in Uitenhage, form part of a broader housing plan being rolled out by the Metro in that area.

That's according to Municipality spokesperson, Mthubanzi Mniki, after the municipality served eviction notices on around 300 people on Tuesday.

They took to the streets on Wednesday morning in protest, burning tyres and barricading roads. A short while ago, police set off stun grenades to disperse the crowd and arrested seven women on charges of public violence.

Mniki says the protesters had occupied land illegally that had been allocated for the construction of a school.

One resident, Maggie Jacobs, explains why they are protesting.

She told Algoa FM News that as far as she's concerned, its not necessary for the so-called backyard shack dwellers to move from the land they're currently occupying.

"In the first place the metro took our land from the backyarders and gave it to other people.That is why the backyarders took this piece of land and went to squat there. Now all of a sudden our people must move and I said no our people will not move they will stay. I want water, I want toilets that the metro will not give to us. This piece of land I do not want a school there. There are enough schools in Uitenhage." said Jacobs.