“We’ve Been Here for Eight Years”: Alexandra Families Left Homeless After Demolitions

The rubble of torn-down homes now lines the streets of Alexandra’s Extension 7, where seven families are demanding answers and alternative housing after the City of Johannesburg moved in with demolition orders.

A long running housing battle

According to the municipality, the families had erected their homes on municipal servitudes directly above power lines, water pipes, and a sewage system. The city argued this was not only illegal but a safety risk that could no longer be ignored. Ward councillor Tefo Raphadu, who authorised the demolitions, said residents were repeatedly warned before the action was taken.

But for the affected families, many of whom had lived there for nearly a decade, the demolitions came as a shock. What was once a row of modest homes is now heaps of broken bricks and twisted metal, with makeshift wooden planks and steel burglar bars repurposed as temporary bridges across an exposed water pipe.

“Why now?” ask residents

Standing among the debris, resident Nonsikelelo Ndlovu voiced a question many in the community are asking: why allow people to live there for so long, only to tear their homes down now?

“We have been living here for more than eight years. Fine, we are not fighting, but why did they leave us to continue living on top of the municipal servitude for all these years without telling us?” she said. With her belongings hastily loaded onto a truck and nowhere to go, Ndlovu added that the least the city could do is provide temporary accommodation.

A crisis bigger than seven homes

Alexandra’s housing crisis is nothing new. The township, one of Johannesburg’s most overcrowded areas, has seen countless disputes over land, informal structures, and relocations. For many families, the promise of RDP housing has been delayed for years, leaving informal settlements as the only option.

On social media, some South Africans expressed sympathy for the families, questioning why alternative housing was not arranged before demolitions took place. Others argued that ignoring safety concerns posed by illegal structures would only lead to greater tragedies down the line.

What comes next?

While the municipality maintains that laws must be followed, residents insist that demolitions without a safety net only deepen the cycle of poverty and displacement. For Alexandra’s Extension 7, the immediate future remains uncertain and for families like Ndlovu’s, the fight is no longer about legality, but survival.