By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

 PRETORIA, South Africa – On Thursday, the housing department of the Gauteng province began demolishing homes that it said were constructed on illegally sold land, despite efforts by protesters to stop the demolitions.

37 out of 113 targeted houses have been bulldozed so far. Since then, residents in Lenasia Extension 13, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, protested against the demolition barricading roads and setting tires on fire.

The protesters clamored for due process. They claim that although their houses were on the list to be demolished, they were never given notice contrary to a public statement issued by the housing department. One of the things the government could have done, they said, was to work out a deal with them that would have allowed them to properly purchase the houses and lots.

Their rally fell on deaf ears, however. Bulldozers, escorted by armored police vehicles, made its way amid the protesters’ makeshift barricades and continued to smash the houses on their path. The residents could only watch in vain as their homes were turned into rubble.

In one instance, the police had to drag a woman who was carrying a baby out of her house, but that did not stop her from trying to save her property. Once outside, she ran and stood in front of the bulldozer that was about to tear down her house, pressing her hands against it and begging the authorities to spare her home. She cried, “Please, please, please, don’t do it”.

The provincial spokesperson, Motsamai Motlhaolwa, said that the housing department was merely implementing a court order. “We are evicting people from a land that belongs to the department,” he said. He maintains that the land is intended for future government housing projects.

Motlhaolwa also claims that the title deeds presented by some of the residents were fake. Citing an investigation conducted by the housing department’s anti-fraud and corruption unit, he said that “fraudsters sold several stands (for amounts) ranging from 2,500 rand ($285) to 95,000 rand ($10,860) and issued buyers with fraudulent deeds of sale which bore the department’s official logo.” In fact, he added, the court ordered the residents not to build houses on the land in 2006, but a syndicate had convinced them otherwise.

Sam Mfupa, one of the residents whose house was demolished, asserted that the government should have arrested the people who sold them the land beforehand. He speculated that members of the syndicate might be “con artists from the housing department” itself.

Police spokesman Kay Makhubele retorted that residents should lay charges if they have evidence of corruption and their homes were destroyed.

According to Spokesperson Motsamai Motlhaolwa, owners of the demolished houses would not be compensated for their losses.

For further information, please see:

The Peninsula – Demolition of houses sparks protests in S Africa – 10 November 2012

The Associated Press – SAfrica police destroy illegal homes – 9 November 2012

News24 – Anger over Lenasia demolitions – 9 November 2012

News24 – Lenasia woman hysterical over demolition – 9 November 2012

IOL News – Lenasia locals protest housing demolition – 9 November 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan—Southern Sudan, which achieved its independence from Sudan just last year after several decades of civil war, has just expelled a United Nations human rights officer after the South Sudan government objected to a United Nations report raising allegations of atrocities carried out by South Sudan’s army.

The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Hilde F. Johnson, described this expulsion as a “breach of the legal obligations” of South Sudan’s government “under the charter of the United Nations.” Ms. Johnson said that human rights monitoring “must be protected.” She also noted that, “human rights violations and discrimination were at the core of the South Sudanese struggle during decades of civil war.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, noted in a press release, “I urge the government of South Sudan to reverse its expulsion order and find a solution to this unfortunate episode, which contradicts the government’s publicly stated commitment human rights.”

The United States has also condemned the expulsion. Mark Toner, the Spokesman of the United States State Department noted that the US government fully supported the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. The Mission was put if effect to strengthen the government, institutions, provide humanitarian relief, and also to monitor, mitigate and prevent conflict throughout the country.

This is actually the second time that a United Nations human rights investigator has been coerced to leave South Sudan. A little over a year ago, in August 2011, the former head of the United Nations human rights division, Benedict Sannoh, was attacked and badly beaten after he was taken from his hotel room by ten South Sudanese police officers. They left Sannoh at a hospital after the attack.

The attack occurred just after Sannoh had refused to allow the police officers to search his bags and enter his hotel room in the country’s capital of Juba. His injuries were so severe that he spent five days in the hospital and was later sent abroad for future treatment.

This expulsion is even more devastating with the knowledge of the human rights violations that occur against blacks in many regions of both Sudan and Southern Sudan. The Southern Sudanese government is also targeting human rights defenders and other activists for speaking out against these violations.

United Nations sources, named the officer who was expelled as Sandra Beidas, and further noted that the expulsion may have been related to an August report accusing the army of torturing, raping and killing civilians.

For further information, please see:

Sudan Tribune – Top UN Official Urges South Sudan to Reverse Expulsion of Human Rights Officer – 10 November 2012

All Africa – Race-Based Violence and Torture – 8 November 2012

The Guardian – South Sudan Expels UN Human Rights Worker – 5 November 2012

The New York Times – South Sudan Expels UN Rights Officer – 5 November 2012