Makeshift day‑care, live electric wires and over 40 undocumented migrants uncovered as Johannesburg intensifies its war on hijacked buildings
Joburg’s battle against hijacked buildings reached a surreal crescendo this week when Acting Mayor Kenny Kunene stumbled upon a cardboard‑and‑mattress crèche tucked inside a derelict Marshalltown block. His unannounced sweep—backed by Public Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku, JMPD officers, City Power and EMS—laid bare the toxic mix of unlawful occupation, child endangerment and rampant criminal syndicates profiteering off desperate tenants.
How the Raid Unfolded
- Date & venue: Tuesday, 1 July 2025, 242 Marshalltown & surrounding CBD blocks.
- Purpose: Part of the metro’s “Inner‑City Reclaim” drive to flush out illegal occupation, sever unsafe electricity taps and trace syndicates forging IDs and passports.
- Immediate outcome: Electricity cables ripped out, illegal water pipes capped, four police vans filled with suspected undocumented migrants—and the shock discovery of a kiddies’ classroom behind makeshift walls.
Inside the Makeshift Crèche
Kunene followed the giggles of toddlers to a “room” lined with cardboard panels, mattresses and dangling extension cords. Toys sat in puddles formed by leaking sewage pipes. A 24‑year‑old woman—who insisted she was merely “watching neighbourhood kids for R20‑R50 when parents can pay”—fled moments later, leaving at least ten frightened children in EMS care. Kunene called the conditions “inhumane” and vowed to involve the City’s Social Development Department to place the children safely.
Safety Hazards That Echo the uSindiso Tragedy
Arrests & the Fraud‑Stamp Syndicate
- Over 40 suspects nabbed across three buildings—most with counterfeit passports stamped by an identical rubber seal, hinting at an internal forgery ring.
- MMC for Infrastructure Jack Sekwaila estimates syndicate “landlords” rake in up to R120 000 per month in illicit rent, fuelling turf wars that have turned lethal.
What Happens Next?
- Social Development: to locate guardians, assess children for trauma and secure licensed care facilities.
- Building Ownership: property owners summoned to partner with City to secure and ultimately refurbish or demolish unsafe structures.
- Continued Raids: Kunene’s team returns daily this week, targeting 20 more suspected hijacked addresses.
- Long‑term Plan: City moots converting reclaimed blocks into affordable social housing, echoing successful inner‑city PPP models in Maboneng.
Voices from the Scene
> “The lawlessness we are seeing in these hijacked buildings births illegal crèches under inhumane conditions. Shutting them down is how we protect the parents as much as the children.” — Kenny Kunene, Acting Joburg Mayor
> “Every person here pays R500–R800 a head. The kingpins can pocket six figures monthly—that’s why they kill for it.” — Jack Sekwaila, MMC Infrastructure
Why This Matters
Johannesburg has cycled through nine mayors in six years, and service‑delivery backlogs have allowed hijacked buildings to mushroom. The crèche shutdown spotlights the human cost—children growing up in pop‑up classrooms that violate every building and education by‑law in the book.
Kunene’s lightning raid may read like an episode of Undercover Boss meets City of God, but it underscores a grim reality: reclaiming Joburg’s skyline isn’t just about bricks and mortar; it’s about rescuing its youngest residents from makeshift sandboxes of danger. Whether the momentum survives the city’s revolving‑door politics remains to be seen—but for now, the cardboard crèche is no more.
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