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THE Sibisis’ funiture was left outside near the road after they had been evicted.
Eviction standoff } Tladi Moloi
IT took six hours for 12 members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) from Bethlehem and the sheriff of the court to evict the Sibisi family of the Baken Park location in Bethlehem on Wednesday. Express Eastern Free State has been reliably informed that the family was evicted after the house had been sold on auction. This was done because the house had not been paid for since 2005, soon after the father of the family had died. Looking from afar, one could have thought the police who arrived in six vehicles had been assigned to arrest a dangerous criminal who had committed a serious offence, but it was just manpower to evict the stubborn Mamohau Sibisi (40) who gave them a though time before the mission could be accomplished. Mamohau locked the two doors to prevent the police from coming in to the house. She blocked the doors with furniture on the inside and warned them that whoever pushed at the door would be met with hot water. Key South Africa in Bethlehem was called to help in opening the door and
THE evicted Mamohau walking out of the gate.
Sibisi
soon after this Sean Glasgow, the transporter from the Sheriff’s office in Bethlehem, pushed at the door and quickly retreated saying, “She has a knife.” The police went into the house and spoke to the woman, who then left the
house to speak to her lawyers. Mamohau said she went back to her parents’ house at the Phumala Mqasha section of Bohlokong, Bethlehem. She said she was searching for the money to pay the outstanding balance of the house so that she could return. “The municipality has taken the furniture to their store room. Those things will remain there until I get a place to stay. “My husband died in 2005 and in 2010, when they kicked me out of the house, I was told that the police could not pay the house. I asked why and they told me stories,” said the heartbroken Mamohau. Glasgow said, “We tried to be as professional as we could, but they did not want to cooperate.” He said in the end they had to force their way in to do what the court had instructed them to do. “It was not the first time that we negotiated the matter with the family. We arrived here around nine – and look at the time. It is now 14:30. The woman was removed from the house in 2010, but since then she did not settle the debt on the house,” he said. He said there was a woman who had bought the house and she wanted
to move into the house. However, there were threats from the neighbours and the family which was kicked out that if someone were to
Photos: Tladi Moloi
move into the house, the house would be burnt down. The frustrated new owner of the house refused to talk to Express EFS.
HARD TIMES: The members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Bethlehem rushing into the house to stop Mamohau Sibisi who was armed with a knife.