Cape Town to appeal evictions judgment
Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato says the city will appeal a judgment yesterday removing the City of Cape Town's right to protect property from land invasion.
His announcement came after Western Cape High Court Judges Shehnaz Meer and Rosheni Allie granted interim relief, and stated that the city must have a court order to evict anyone or demolish a home, says a News24 report.
According to Plato, the city's land protection efforts had led to the removal of more than 55 000 illegal structures in 30 different parts of the metro since 1 July.
‘The city's actions are necessary and vital for upholding the rule of law and for protecting public land intended for services, housing, community facilities, schools and transport services,’ he argued.
‘The granting of an interdict preventing the city from conducting any counter-spoliation to protect public land without a court order goes far beyond what the Constitution and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act allow,’ added Plato.
The case was brought by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the EFF amid a string of demolitions and evictions by the City of Cape Town in recently-occupied informal settlements.
Plato said that the HRC's main application, to be heard at their preference only in October, specifically asked the court to declare counter-spoliation unlawful, and for the common law to be amended.
The court found the city had acted illegally in launching evictions and demolitions on what it called ‘unoccupied dwellings’ during the lockdown period.
The action was prompted after the city and its law enforcement evicted a naked man, Bulelani Qolani, from his shack at the Ethembeni informal settlement in Khayelitsha in July.
Under lockdown regulations, no evictions can take place. But the city argued the regulations did not preclude dwellings that were not occupied, notes a Mail & Guardian report.
In its case, the applicants cited examples in Hangberg, Ocean View, and Khayelitsha, where law enforcement and the city’s anti-land-invasion unit (ALIU) had evicted people and torn down their homes during the lockdown.
The judges described the eviction of Qolani as ‘reminiscent of apartheid-era brutal forced removals’.
Meer ruled that the city and the ALIU were interdicted from demolishing or evicting anybody from any shack, hut, tent or dwelling for the duration of the National State of Disaster, except when a court order is obtained.
The order reads that, if court permission is granted for any eviction, law enforcement or any contractor appointed by the city should undertake to execute the eviction in a manner that upholds the dignity of the evicted people.
They are also prohibited from using excessive force or from confiscating the personal belongings of individuals.
The South African Police Service has also been ordered to ensure that, if they are present, all national laws are obeyed in conformity with the Constitution.
The report notes the ruling could have far-reaching consequences throughout the country as municipalities deal with ever-increasing lockdown homelessness and land occupations.
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.
