{"id":851285,"date":"2026-02-18T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=851285"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:46:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:46:46","slug":"hijacked-buildings-with-a-growing-squatter-camp-in-south-africas-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/851285\/hijacked-buildings-with-a-growing-squatter-camp-in-south-africas-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Hijacked buildings with a growing squatter camp in South Africa’s capital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Melgisedek Buildings in South Africa\u2019s capital, Pretoria, have become known for hijacked buildings and a growing squatter camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Melgisedek Buildings are located less than a kilometer away from the Union Buildings, the official seat of the South African government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also houses the Office of the President, where he hosts heads of state and dignitaries. Having a respectable area close to the Union Buildings is therefore important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2024, the City of Tshwane Council approved the Tshwane Sustainable and Better Buildings Programme (TSBBP)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This programme aimed to drive inner-city regeneration by tackling derelict and illegally occupied buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city said this programme was based on lessons learnt from similar attempts in other metros, such as the City of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central business districts of these cities have seen a marked decline, with deteriorating infrastructure and a rise in crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNegligent property owners, slumlords, and building-hijacking syndicates have taken advantage of desperate people,\u201d the City of Tshwane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation resulted in the illegal occupation of buildings that leads to urban decay and poses a direct threat to human lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Tshwane promised to take a proactive approach to tackle derelict buildings by either forcing the sale of the property through the courts or expropriating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny instances of illegal occupation will be swiftly dealt with by following due process within the boundaries of the law,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny building-hijacking syndicates or criminals will be identified, removed, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said it would take full control of any derelict or illegally occupied buildings owned by the City of Tshwane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme was set to be driven at the highest level by the City Manager and bring together all City departments to collaborate on this complex issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infamous Melgisedek Building, close to Steve Biko Academic Hospital, was at the top of the City of Tshwane\u2019s list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is part of our commitment to building a healthy, vibrant city with economic opportunities for all,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melgisedek Buildings a disaster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On 3 February 2026, the City of Tshwane Mayor, Nasiphi Moya, conducted an oversight visit<\/a> to the Melgisedek Buildings in the Pretoria central business district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This followed a fire the day before, where four people were hospitalised, and medical services were needed to assist the injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moya explained that this was a city-owned property that\u2019s been vacant for years and has become home to hundreds of homeless people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA fire broke out, leaving four people injured. To protect the occupants of this area, we will demolish this building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city has applied for a court order seeking to finalise the relocation of the residents of this property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city has found land that\u2019s available as a safe alternative to the Megisedek property,\u201d Moya said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BusinessTech visited the Melgisedek Buildings and the surrounding area, and it was in a state of disrepair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apart from the occupied building, a squatter camp has developed around the building, and the area has become home to numerous vagrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area’s traffic lights are overrun by beggars, making it dangerous for motorists and creating an unpleasant situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a cry from the government\u2019s own description of the City of Tshwane as a globally competitive urban hub and a world-class cosmopolitan city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photos below come from a BusinessTech visit to the Melgisedek Buildings in February 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Photos of the Melgisedek Buildings in Pretoria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Melgisedek Buildings in South Africa\u2019s capital, Pretoria, have become known for hijacked buildings and a growing squatter camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":851289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6490,24776,24779,8291,24778,24777],"class_list":["post-851285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-city-of-tshwane","tag-melgisedek-buildings","tag-nasiphi-moya","tag-pretoria","tag-tshwane-sustainable-and-better-buildings-programme-tsbbp","tag-union-buildings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851285"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851305,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851285\/revisions\/851305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}