Eviction of homeless people in District Six unlawful
The Western Cape High Court has found that the City of Cape Town's eviction of 46 homeless people from an empty parking lot in District Six last month was unlawful.
A News24 report says Judge Rosheni Allie also interdicted and restrained the city from carrying out further evictions at the parking lot without a valid court order.
‘(The city) is interdicted and restrained from demolishing damaging, confiscating or otherwise destroying and disposing of the applicants' tents and habitable structures and personal property without a court order authorising them to do so,’ she said.
She ordered the city to return the people's belongings to them within five days.
If the city is unable to return the tents, building materials, goods and possessions, it will be liable for a compensatory amount of R1 700, she said.
She added: ‘(That the city) relies on the authority vested in it by the by-law to confiscate items that are kept in a public place unlawfully, does not detract from the fact that the respondent caused the applicants' belongings to be removed without due process. A notice on the day on which the removal occurred does not amount to adequate notice nor due process.’
However, in a statement, the city said it planned to appeal the judgment.
‘There can be no reasonable expectation, nor a clear right, for anyone to live unlawfully and permanently in tents in public spaces and to reserve it for their exclusive use,’ it said.
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.
