Residents of Airport Park next to the East London Airport who lost their homes and possessions during government demolitions are waiting to hear when a court-ordered rebuild will take place, says a TimesLIVE report.

It has been more than a month since the Eastern Cape High Court (East London) ruled that the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure carried out an illegal eviction when it demolished 108 lived-in shacks and brick houses on 27 July.

Judge Belinda Hartle’s ruling means government departments and municipalities that falsely claim shacks are ‘unoccupied’ before bulldozing them without an eviction order are breaking the law. They will be forced to replace everything they have destroyed.

Hartle rejected the testimony of Vuyani Maqetuka, the Public Works Department’s head of security in the Eastern Cape, who said only certain ‘incomplete and unoccupied structures’ had been demolished.

Video evidence clearly showed it was a lived-in community. Asked if the provincial department would abide by the order, spokesperson Thami Mchunu said the court order was unclear and that ‘the implementation of the order is a challenge’.

Mchunu stands by the department’s argument, which Hartle rejected.

‘The department maintains that no eviction was done, but our actions (were) purely in line with an existing court order, which authorised the department to demolish and dismantle unoccupied structures illegally erected on our premises. The judge, however, appears to have a different interpretation of dismantling and demolishing ... The applicants are yet to provide actual title deed ownership as part of their defence.’

Airport Park residents have not been asked to provide a defence, and Hartle’s order is clear: the structures must be rebuilt to the same standard, even without title deeds, notes the TimesLIVE report.

Hartle added that residents whose homes were demolished did not have to provide further proof that they were living there.

‘In my view, the applicants need to do no more than (confirm) that these structures which were demolished by the (government’s) own admission among the 108 targeted were their homes. What more should they say?’

Mchunu said the department would not meet the Airport Park residents until it had more clarity, adding that residents had not provided any specifications or details about the homes that were demolished.

‘This, therefore, renders the judgment open to any claims relating to the size and structures to be reconstituted.’

He did not respond when asked if Public Works would appeal the judgment, says the report.

Full TimesLIVE report