The community of Meadowlands has vowed to protect a 109-year-old gogo who was evicted from her Meadowlands home, in Soweto, on Wednesday.
Members of the EFF, ActionSA and concerned neighbours kept vigil outside the three-room house.
A video of the elderly Kenaope Mosidi being frog-marched out of her home by new homeowner Jacob Joel Moalusi has sparked outrage on social media.
On arrival, The Star was greeted by members of the community trying to find a solution to Mosidi’s problem.
A relative, Pitso Tone, told The Star that her aunt had since been taken to an unnamed old-age facility to ensure her safety amid the chaos.
She said it was painful to see her aunt being chased away from her home after the house was allegedly sold to Moalusi by one of her granddaughters, identified as Kedibone. The community said the granddaughter has never lived in the house.
“Right now we do not even know where gogo has been taken to. We are not sure how she is wherever she is. My mother, who is her sister, is beside herself with grief because her sister now has to suffer because of this bogus sale.
“As you can see, the community have vowed to help protect the home which gogo has been living in with some of her grandchildren. She is old and frail and now she is homeless,” Tone said.
According to Tone, Moalusi is a cousin who is alleged to have bought the house from Kedibone. Kedibone, who lives in the Vaal, could not be reached for comment.
“This is a family house and no one has a right to sell this house because it belongs to gogo and other members of the family.
“Gogo's grandchild who sold this house to her cousin had no right to do that. In fact, we are not sure if the house was even sold because there is no proof (of this),” she said.
Tone alleged that Moalusi harassed and broke household items when his bodyguards stormed the home, demanding that everyone leave because it was his house now.
A community member, who did not want to be identified, said the same.
Ward 14 councillor Philemon Tambani told The Star that as a temporary solution, no one would be allowed to occupy the house until the verification process with the Department of Housing and all legal processes had been completed.
“The gogo has been taken in by social services while we try and find alternative accommodation for the remaining family members, including two children. As for the new homeowner, only once everything has been determined will we understand what is happening,” said Tambani.
Speaking to the SABC, Moalusi said he has done everything by the book after paying R350 000 to buy the home.
He said he even served the family with 31 days notice to vacate the house and after this notice was ignored, resorted to enforcing an eviction order.
Police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said he learnt of the incident on social media and because it was a civil matter, the police would not get involved.
Attempts to get information from social services regarding gogo Mosidi’s whereabouts and condition proved unsuccessful at the time of publication.