Wetland squatters remain after eviction in Wolwespruit area
The remnants of the Wolwespruit informal settlement yesterday. Occupants were evicted on 13 July. Picture: Michel Bega
Residents expected the removal of more than 300 illegal informal settlers from the Wolwespruit wetland in the east of Pretoria earlier this month would end their two decade-long troubles.
But ward 83 councillor Andrew Lesch confirmed that about 30 informal settlers stayed behind and started erecting structures at Wolwespruit wetland, from where the others had been removed.
Lesch said that out of the 30 settlers, about 22 were living along Solomon Mahlangu Street and the rest were in Nossob Street.
Settlers stayed behind, started erecting structures at Wolwespruit wetland
'They started building structures, but the metro police removed them on Monday and was ordered to resolve the matter,' he said.
ActionSA Tshwane caucus spokesperson Henriette Frohlich commended the commitment of the City of Tshwane to resolve this long-standing environmental crisis and for identifying permanent stands above the flood line and restoring the dignity of the Wolwespruit illegal squatters.
'It was never classified as an informal settlement and was thus not included on the Upgrading of Informal Settlement Programme.
ALSO READ: Pretoria residents relieved as Wolwespruit informal settlement is relocated
'By the time eviction notices were issued in November 2021, about 192 households were recorded, of which 110 were South African, 67 Basotho and 15 Zimbabwean,' she said.
Frohlich said in July 2022, the city started to act on a court application to demolish the shacks and relocate the occupiers to Orchards Extension 10, but the illegal settlers refused to be moved.
Dennis Manyisa was removed from the Wolwespruit informal settlement, in the east of Pretoria, yesterday. Picture: Michel Bega
'The city then requested the court grant an urgent eviction order to evict/relocate the occupiers, but the urgent eviction application was dismissed with costs due to lack of urgency.
New court application to evict occupiers
'The new eviction application was then placed on a normal court roll and voluntary relocation forms were distributed to the illegal squatters for submission.
'Only 70 South Africans were verified, most of whom have now been relocated to Pienaarspoort,' she added.
Wingate Park resident Allison Hayward said the community surrounding the Wolwespruit informal settlement at Solomon Mahlangu and Delmas Streets has long advocated for its removal due to concerns about its location on a protected wetland, noise, smoke, waste dumping and illegal activities.
ALSO READ: JMPD clears illegal settlers after long community push in Fourways
'After years of persistent effort from community members, community policing forum groups and city officials, the eviction and resettlement of the Wolwespruit informal settlement has finally occurred.
'While the removal is a welcome development, there are ongoing concerns regarding the resettlement process,' she said.
Hayward said that after the recent relocation, approximately 30 additional South African citizens, who were not accounted for in the original plans, were displaced and are now camping on pavements in the surrounding area (Delmas, Solomon Mahlangu and Nossob streets).
Relocated camping on pavements
Evictees' belongings stacked along Nossob Street after evictions at Wolwespruit informal settlement. Picture: Michel Bega
'This led to new issues such as makeshift shacks, open fires and sanitation problems, posing risks to both the displaced individuals and the wider community.'
Hayward said the community believes the human settlements department should take responsibility for this oversight and ensure these individuals are properly relocated to Pienaarspoort, as initially planned for other South African residents.
'There appears to be internal departmental disagreement within the City of Tshwane regarding who is responsible for these displaced citizens,' she said.
ALSO READ: KZN MEC says it's 'unfortunate' that relocated families return to live on cemetery graves
AfriForum's northern region head of safety Llewellynn Hemmens has called on the city to act on other hotspots in Pretoria.
'The occupation of this area has caused serious problems such as an increase in crime, cable theft and pollution, which has been exacerbated by illegal recycling and dumping. This has damaged the environment almost beyond repair.
'There are many similar examples where the city's inaction has led to serious socioeconomic and environmental challenges, such as in the case of the Plastic View settlement behind Moreleta Church in De Villebois Mareuil Drive.
Metro's failure to act
'This settlement began as temporary housing for illegal squatters and has expanded into a huge informal settlement due to the metro's failure to act,' he added.
Hemmens said that although the city previously got an eviction order to move Plastic View settlers to a new site, they refused to move.
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This party offered refuge to the exiled leadership of the African National Congress and embraced thousands of young South Africans who crossed borders to join the national liberation struggle against apartheid. The ANC, as a liberation movement, had its headquarters in Lusaka under the protection of UNIP, and the Zambian people sustained its operational lifeline. The organisers of the summit have not explained this omission, and it stands as a glaring historical oversight in any attempt to reconstruct the liberation narrative of Southern Africa. Any honest retelling of Southern Africa's liberation history is incomplete without recognising Zambia's indispensable role, under the leadership of the United National Independence Party (UNIP) and President Kenneth Kaunda. While not always armed with material abundance, Zambia carried the weight of regional liberation with unmatched moral clarity and unwavering solidarity. Lusaka was not just a geographical refuge for exiles; it was the beating heart of a pan-African revolutionary conscience, hosting the ANC's headquarters, training camps, political schools, and underground logistics. The Zambian people paid a heavy price, including economic sabotage, border raids by the apartheid regime, and relentless pressure from the West. Yet Kaunda's government never wavered. It chose principle over profit, and African unity over diplomatic convenience. That such a pivotal liberation movement was absent from this summit should not be taken lightly; it reflects a growing trend of selective memory that must be confronted if we are to truly reclaim and revitalise the liberation legacy. The summit made several significant resolutions. It reaffirmed support for the liberation of Western Sahara, condemned all forms of foreign domination and neocolonial interference, and called for deeper ideological and practical cooperation between liberation movements. The parties committed to revitalising South–South solidarity, advancing youth mobilisation and political education, and accelerating regional economic integration through shared development frameworks. In addition, the summit called for party-to-party diplomacy beyond state platforms, recognising the strategic value of liberation movements coordinating across borders to influence global governance, trade, and peace agendas. These resolutions, if translated into action, could mark a turning point, shifting these movements from commemorators of the past to architects of the African future. This was not a nostalgic gathering of revolutionaries trading memories over aged slogans. It was a solemn reaffirmation of purpose, a strategic recalibration of the post-colonial project amidst a volatile global order. What emerged was clear: the legacy of liberation is not a finished chapter; it is an unfinished struggle, and those who led us into freedom must now lead us into transformation. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The liberation movements in the Southern African region have not been able to dogwatch one another, to speak frankly, honestly, and without diplomatic pretence. At no point did SWAPO, FRELIMO, CCM, or MPLA rise with principled courage to say, for instance, to President Robert Mugabe, how you are governing Zimbabwe is unjust and unsustainable. The ANC, however, attempted what it called quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe, urging the Zimbabwean leadership and people to resolve their problems internally and to avoid relying on externally imposed solutions. Unfortunately, that quiet diplomacy did not yield the desired results. The suppression of opposition parties and the stifling of democratic space persisted. This absence of honest, fraternal correction among liberation movements has weakened the moral centre of the liberation tradition itself. One hopes that this revived Party-to-Party diplomacy will correct that historical failure. It must not be reduced to celebratory declarations and performative solidarity. It must have political dog watching as a central tenet, a principled, fraternal mechanism through which liberation movements hold one another to the revolutionary values they once embodied: honesty, people-centred governance, democratic integrity, and moral courage. Not loyalty to incumbency, but loyalty to the people. The liberation movements must be brave enough to confront the objective reality of the evaporation of the liberation heritage. The fact of the matter is that across the African continent, the very parties that ushered in political freedom, that dismantled colonial rule, and held the dreams of the masses, are no longer the governing parties. In Ghana, the Convention People's Party (CPP) of Kwame Nkrumah, the first to proclaim African independence, has faded into political obscurity. In Zambia, UNIP, once the bastion of Southern African solidarity under Kenneth Kaunda, has been swept aside. In Kenya, KANU (Kenya African National Union), the liberation party of Jomo Kenyatta, has long ceded power. Here at home, the ANC of Nelson Mandela, once the symbol of global moral authority, has been partially dislodged from power. It now governs in coalition with its ideological and historical adversaries, a profound moment that should signal not a tactical adjustment, but a generational reckoning. The liberation movement, as we know it, stands at a precipice. The question these Parties must collectively ask is not cosmetic or electoral, it is existential: Why has this occurred? Why have the liberation movements, once cherished as the custodians of the people's hopes, been relegated to electoral decline, coalition compromise, and in some cases, outright irrelevance? And more importantly, what should be their collective response to this objective reality of downward swings, fractured mandates, and the political displacement of liberation itself? This is no longer a theoretical concern. It is an urgent summons for introspection, ideological recalibration, and coordinated strategic renewal across the continent.
