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Siyabonga Mahlangu

Supporting Joburg's inner-city tenants

Siyabonga Mahlangu in downtown Johannesburg © Thom Pierce 2023

Siyabonga Mahlangu runs a community-based organisation in downtown Johannesburg called the Inner City Federation. Its purpose is to provide support to vulnerable tenants in low-cost housing who are being exploited by landlords, corrupt city officials, and fake building owners.


These situations may seem fantastical but, in a city where the law is sparsely enforced, they are all too common.


In 2013 the owner of the building where Siyabonga rented an apartment passed away, and the building was put up for auction. He was presented with an eviction order and told to leave. He had lived there for five years.


Through a court hearing and subsequent appeal process, Siyabonga learned that The City of Johannesburg has an obligation to provide alternative accommodation to anyone being evicted whose personal circumstances indicate that they could not afford a new place to live.


In his case, it was ruled that The City must provide him with alternative accommodation before he could be evicted. It took five years for Siyabonga to be rehoused and it eventually happened only after the entire building was destroyed in an accidental fire during the first coronavirus lockdown.


Throughout the six-year process, Siyabonga was faced with the prospect of being left homeless on several occasions. He experienced, first-hand, the frustration and helplessness that thousands of others face due to the lack of rights and accountability for the welfare of low-income tenants in Johannesburg.


But it lit a fire in him to commit his life to help other people who were struggling in similar circumstances...


“I promised myself that I would fight for human rights. I will make sure that they are recognised, fulfilled, and protected ...That’s what I tell myself each and every day.”


From a small room in Braamfontein, Siyabonga and his team provide free support to 50 buildings in the city centre and deliver valuable services to some of the most exploited residents of Johannesburg’s low-cost housing.


Every month Siyabonga and his colleague Sifiso facilitate a meeting between members of the buildings committees. A valuable space for them to come together and discuss issues that they face, and to share advice and solutions that have worked in the past.


Siyabonga and Sifiso also take on cases where tenants need more personal support. In these instances, they provide mediation with the landlord or the City; or act as a link to legal representation for court proceedings.



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