Evictions of people said to be illegally occupying military housing at the Army Support Base (ASB) Eastern Cape were authorised but the reported dumping of furniture and other incidents outside Port Elizabeth city hall was not and is being investigated.
Brigadier General Xolani Mabanga of Defence Corporate Communication confirmed “about 15 soldiers were instructed to evict individuals who were identified as occupying military houses against the rules governing allocation of these” from three houses on ASB Eastern Cape in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
“The incidents following the evictions of the three identified houses have been brought to the attention of senior authorities. An urgent internal investigation has been launched and will run concurrently with a SA Police Service investigation to determine the sequence of events and the roles of all parties involved,” he said.
According to reports a woman was one of those evicted from the Forest Hill military base by “gun-wielding soldiers”. This is despite her apparently being in possession of a court order allowing her to occupy the house. According to her lawyer the court had ordered she be allowed to return to the house pending the SANDF being granted an eviction order.
Her belongings were loaded onto a military truck and allegedly “dumped” outside the Port Elizabeth city hall.
The woman, according to newspaper reports, has lived on the base for almost 17 years and her former husband is still a SA National Defence Force (SANDF) employee.
Mabanga said the SANDF “regretted the unfortunate incidents” in Port Elizabeth and would co-operate fully with the police investigation.
Other reports have it the soldiers who dumped furniture outside city hall were armed and abusive and damaged municipal property.
