By Thapelo Molefe
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has authorised formal court proceedings to evict three former uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Members of Parliament from state-owned residential properties in Cape Town.
The individuals have remained in the Parliamentary Village since their removal from Parliament in August 2024, defying notices to vacate issued by the State Attorney.
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Following the expiration of a deadline last Friday, Macpherson stated that legal action, including a cost order, will be launched in the coming days to reclaim the properties.
“I’ve authorised formal eviction proceedings, including a cost order, against three former MK MPs who have been unlawfully occupying Parliamentary Village properties since being removed from Parliament in August 2024,” said Macpherson.
“The department cannot become a party to a dispute between a political party and its members current or former. We will now move with speed to reclaim these properties after all formal requests to vacate were ignored.”
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The Minister emphasised that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) would not allow itself to be embroiled in internal disputes between political parties and members whose parliamentary terms have been terminated.
“The Department cannot and should not be drawn into a legal fight in this regard—our responsibility is to the South African public and to protecting state property for their benefit,” he said.
Responding to the Minister’s statement, MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela claimed that the party had already initiated legal action against the individuals for unlawful occupation, arguing that Macpherson was merely executing a process the party had started.
“We are the ones that opposed these people in the first place from occupying those houses. Because they shouldn’t be occupying those houses,” Ndhlela told Inside Politics.
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Ndhlela alleged that the former MPs in question were not legitimate MK party representatives, claiming that the party’s Electoral Commission (IEC) candidate list had been “tampered with” to include them without approval.
“This is just Macpherson’s cheap political point,” Ndhlela added, accusing the Minister of taking too long to execute the eviction.
“MK is the political party that then requested the intervention of the speaker, and therefore in this case, public works as a department, to play a role and to do its job.”
Ndhlela went further, suggesting that the illegal occupation was linked to broader irregularities surrounding the party’s candidate lists submitted to the IEC.
“Remember our election list, our IEC election list was tampered with,” Ndhlela claimed. “That’s why we went and opened up a case at Sandton Police Station.”
According to the spokesperson, the individuals in question were sworn in despite the party’s efforts to prevent it. When the party finally moved to terminate their membership, Ndhlela alleged that the individuals refused to leave the properties, leading to the party initiating legal action.
“These people should be arrested, those that manipulated our list,” Ndhlela said. “And those that went and got sworn in… By force, they wanted to occupy those properties, which is what then made us go to court.”
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