Johannesburg evictions ruled unconstitutional
The ditching of vulnerable people in the rainy-cold streets over the weekend has highlighted the alleged ‘anti-poor’ behaviour of Johannesburg, which was found to have acted unconstitutionally by the courts.
The Star reports on Saturday evening last week, the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) delivered a damning judgment against the City of Johannesburg for ‘unlawfully’ evicting 23 people over alleged illegal occupation of its property.
The property in question, Van Beeck Hostel, belongs to the city and houses some of its employees.
In a judgment handed down by Judge Avrielle Maier-Frawley, the court found that the city – as well as the Johannesburg metro police and other law enforcement agencies – was ‘unlawful and unconstitutional’ when carrying out the evictions.
The city was also ordered to pay the costs of the application, ‘which includes the costs of two counsel’, after being interdicted from evicting more residents.
EFF Johannesburg Councillor Lydia Ledwaba – who assisted the people with the urgent court matter with the help of Zuko Madikane from the Lawyers for Black People – labelled the city as ‘anti-poor and violators of the Constitution’ for ditching vulnerable people in the streets.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
