Hostel land sale anger costs two lives

News that a portion of the land Diepkloof Hostel is built on is partially privately-owned and that this caused a delay in completing promised housing units, is what sparked Monday’s violent protest at the hostel that left two people dead.

This is according to Johannesburg’s MMC for housing, Mlungisi Mabaso, who told a media briefing on Monday afternoon, just hours after the deaths were reported, that part of the land at the hostel was owned by the government and another part was privately owned.

“We don’t understand how this happened as the record of the transaction is unclear and illegal,” Mabaso said. “The private owner did not buy the land because if they had, the matter should have been discussed and approved in council.”

He said the city would conduct a forensic investigation into the ownership.

“What is concerning is a reference that the land transfer happened in June 2023 from a transaction dating as far back as 1990. Development could not continue as there is an existing court interdict hindering us from doing so, because of the circumstances around the ownership of the land.

“We are trying to develop the hostel so it can be habitable,” Mabaso said, “so that at least our people have a bare minimum of services like water and sanitation. This company [the private owner] wants to convert it [the land] into a business precinct and they want R18m from us [the city, in damages] which we don’t have.”

The media briefing happened just hours after Khethokwakhe Ndawonde, 59, was struck by a truck, which also left Surprise Zungu seriously injured.

Residents and the hostel induna, Dumisani Mncube, said the truck driver had been trying to get away from protesters who were trying to loot the vehicle when he rammed into the duo.

A third person, who is yet to be identified, was hit by a car at the Diepkloof interchange and died in hospital.

Ndawonde, a father of four and longtime resident of the hostel, had been sorting his recyclables at the hostel entrance as he usually did every day, when he was hit by the truck.

Another truck was looted during the protest, leading to more law enforcement officials being deployed in the area.

Raids were conducted in the afternoon, with some of the looted items, including tinned fish and frozen chicken, seized by authorities.

Ndawonde’s brother, Bhungu Ndawonde, said community members told him of his brother’s death.

“I was on my way to look for a part-time job when I received the call. I’m told he was not part of the protest but was hit at his usual recycling spot at the hostel gate. We are really sad and don’t know who to blame. He was the remaining eldest person in our family after the passing of our parents,” Bhungu said.

He said his brother became a recycler after he was retrenched from work years ago.

Zungu, 30, a mother of two, was admitted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Her family said she was in danger of losing a part of one of her legs and had also sustained a head injury.

“Surprise was injured while she sat just outside her room at the hostel,” said Zungu’s father, who identified himself as Khumalo. “We understand that the truck that hit her was lost as it was en route to deliver foodstuffs. While trying to exit the hostel premises, protesters tried to loot it and so the driver was trying to escape.”

Hostel induna Mncube said the protest was sparked by ongoing confusion among residents about the land that had allegedly been sold and an individual claiming to own it, including the portion where the new hostel units now stand.

“The project that is meant to house the majority of the residents here has stalled since September 2024,” Mncube said. “People were moved from where the project was taking place with the promise of houses in the form of a block of flats.”

Hostel resident Asanda Nxumalo said residents of an entire block of units had to share about three chemical toilets, which were unhygienic and not maintained regularly.

“I moved into the hostel in 2011,” Nxumalo said. “We were told the units were temporary until the housing project is concluded and we are allocated our homes. Years later, we are still here, and the units are dilapidated. The roofs are leaking, the floors are unstable and huge holes are forming. The place has safety and security issues. The promise of homes seems to have fallen through the cracks.”

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