{
  "id": 2179454,
  "title": "GROUNDUP: Families living in Joburg stadium trapped among rubbish and rats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/groundup-families-living-in-joburg-stadium-trapped-among-rubbish-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-20T17:00:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-20-families-living-in-joburg-stadium-trapped-among-rubbish-and-rats/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hundreds of families in Johannesburg still live in unsanitary conditions at Wembley Stadium, years after being promised temporary shelter. The City of Johannesburg moved residents there after evictions or fires, expecting them to relocate to permanent housing within six months. However, the City has failed to provide any plan for moving them out. The residents are living among rubbish, rats, graffiti, drug use, and violence. They have no electricity, water, or security, and some residents, like Ethel Musosoza, have been unable to find other housing options because they do not have a passport or are immigrants. The City of Johannesburg's TEA policy states that residents should not be in emergency accommodation for longer than six months, and that a plan to move them towards permanent housing must be developed within 90 days. However, the funding for TEA facilities has significantly decreased, and there are not enough housing units available. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri) argues that the issue is not just about TEA, but that there is a lack of affordable accommodation for low-income inner-city residents, and that temporary emergency accommodation should provide basic standards of living in dignity.",
  "summary": "Years after being promised temporary shelter, hundreds of Johannesburg residents remain trapped in squalid conditions at Wembley Stadium with no clear path to permanent housing.",
  "key_points": [
    "Hundreds of families in Johannesburg live in unsanitary conditions at Wembley Stadium.",
    "City of Johannesburg failed to provide a plan for residents to move out.",
    "Residents lack basic amenities like electricity, water, and security."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}