Muslim migrant traders were among those left counting their losses after a City of Johannesburg demolition operation at Marble Towers disrupted businesses and livelihoods before the Johannesburg High Court temporarily halted the action pending an urgent hearing.
The building in Johannesburg’s CBD became the focus of a major municipal enforcement operation this week as officials moved to demolish illegal structures and clear sections of the property. The City said the action formed part of its broader campaign against unsafe and unlawfully occupied buildings.
Among those affected were Muslim traders who have operated from Marble Towers for years, many of whom were forced to hastily remove their stock as demolition machinery moved in. Some appealed to officials for more time to salvage their merchandise, while others watched as businesses built over many years were disrupted.
The Johannesburg High Court has since granted an interim order preventing the City and Executive Mayor Dada Morero from demolishing, damaging or interfering with the building until the matter is heard on an urgent basis on Thursday.
The order also prevents municipal officials from entering the property to carry out further demolitions or stopping lawful occupants from accessing the building. It further bars the City from using the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) or the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to remove structures or occupants while the interim order remains in force.
Yohannes Habib, Vice-Chairman of the African Diaspora Forum and head of the Ethiopian community in South Africa, said the enforcement action should be understood in the context of the ongoing dispute between the municipality and the property’s owner.
According to Habib, Mayor Dada Morero had previously approached the South African owner of Marble Towers and set deadlines for the building to be brought into compliance.
“The Mayor approached the owner of the building and gave dates for the owner to fix the building, but the owner did not comply,” Habib told One Nation Media (ONM).
Habib said the traders, many of whom are Muslim migrants, had continued operating from the building on the advice of the owner and believed they were doing so lawfully.
“The tenants are innocent. They continued operating because the South African owner advised them to continue with their businesses. In the end, the tenants became the victims,” he said.
He said the dispute over the condition of the building was between the municipality and the owner, but it was the traders whose livelihoods had been disrupted by the demolition operation.
The City maintains that the operation is aimed at improving public safety, enforcing municipal by-laws and tackling criminality often associated with hijacked and neglected buildings. Municipal officials have also argued that previous court directives requiring parts of Marble Towers to be vacated and secured were not fully complied with.
Defending the operation, Morero said: “Our inspection confirms that the owners and occupants continue to defy both the authority of the Court and the City’s by-laws. Illegal trading continues in areas that the Court ordered must not be occupied or used. The City of Johannesburg cannot tolerate continued contempt of a court order. Those who choose to disregard the rule of law must face the consequences.”
He added: “We will shut down all unlawful trading activities and secure every non-compliant structure as directed by the Court. Our message is clear: Johannesburg will not be governed by lawlessness. We are reclaiming our inner city, enforcing our by-laws, and upholding the rule of law without fear or favour.”
Several people were also arrested during the operation. Some foreign nationals were seen fleeing the area, while others were taken into custody.
Housing activists have criticised the City’s approach, arguing that efforts to address dangerous and unlawfully occupied buildings should be accompanied by meaningful support for vulnerable residents and traders, including access to alternative accommodation where necessary.
