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Hijacked buildings in Johannesburg’s central business district.
The Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku, says the turf war over hijacked building rentals in the inner city is escalating again, putting many lives at risk.
Tshwaku led an operation to tackle the crisis and stop the bloodshed that’s related to the ongoing hijacking of buildings.
Property hijacking syndicates have seized over 500 buildings in the Johannesburg CBD.
On Saturday, a multi-agency team inspected a hijacked building in Marshalltown.
Tshwaku says that the property owner approached the city for help after he received several assassination threats.
“Into the death of DJ Warras. We thought, ‘Let us elevate it even more.’ Because this is a turf war of hijacked buildings to operate in these buildings. Many people were actually killed. Three groups have been killed, and now the fourth group is the one that’s been.”
Corruption
Specialist Security and Private Investigator, Mike Bolhuis says corruption and bribery has exacerbated the hijacking of buildings in the Johannesburg CBD.
Bolhuis says it’s difficult to remove people who occupy properties illegally, as police are often threatened by the kingpins of hijacked buildings. He says that hijackers exploit the slow pace of the justice system.
Bolhuis says it will take time for law enforcement to overcome the challenges of hijacked buildings.
“You know there’s many reasons why this has been grinded to such a huge issue. One, is a lack of authority in getting involved in assisting the community or owners. The court systems do make a difference trying to interdict. But it is difficult to enforce. These groups are so clever and they can bribe the authorities and also going to an extend of killing somebody.”
Hijacked Buildings | Syndicates are smart and have ways of dealing with police: Mike Bolhuis
