Chatsworth informal settlement 'without lights for years'
Residents from the Bottlebrush informal settlement in Chatsworth say they have been asking the municipality for electricity for 15 years now.
And some of them say they have been left without a choice but to take someone else's.
Many people, including children, have been electrocuted as a result of these illegal connections. Residents say eThekwini hasn't told them why they still don't have power.
"At the end, they say we're stealing. I don't like taking electricity through illegal connections. I'm doing this because I have to," one resident says.
"We asked them a long time ago until now and we can't get an answer. I've stayed here for ten years - they've promised to give us electricity but they never have," another resident adds.
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Bottlebush is home to around 11 000 people. Community members who had demanded answers from eThekwini at a council meeting at City Hall yesterday were kicked out.
The municipality's Tozi Mthethwa has explained their removal.
"There are rules of council in terms of how people should conduct themselves in a council meeting. The reason for their removal is that they did not adhere to protocol," she says.