Infamous ‘White House’ demolition approved by the City

After recent protests following the murders of young boys in Hout Bay, the City of Cape Town has agreed to demolish the building believed to house the area’s criminals.

Dubbed ‘The White House’, the building is a dilapidated house on the corner of Main and OR Tambo Road. Many in the community believe it is a safe house for a group of criminals that have been terrorising residents for the past few years.

Hout Bay residents, especially those from the Imizamo Yethu informal settlement, have reached the end of their tether. The community marched early last week, and set the house alight. Prior to this, it is believed the same mob sussed out the murderer of a young man, Nchikala Ngoy, also known as Dede Chikala, who was stabbed near the building.

The demolition will depend on the weather on Thursday morning. It will cost R300 000 for the entire operation, including the disposal of the rubble.

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Brett Herron said: “The estimated cost of the demolition and removal of the rubble is R30 000 and the process is expected to take about two days.”

“Even though the process to demolish this building commenced long before the recent media attention, and we were required to follow prescribed and lengthy processes including a heritage application, I apologise to the community for the neglect of this building and for the slow process to get to this point where we can remove it,” he added.

The Department for Asset Management and Maintenance at Transport for Cape Town, the City’s transport authority, will demolish the building.

Herron warned that no informal settlements will be tolerated on the land after the demolition.

The building is over 60 years old.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons