Eviction order granted for unlawfully occupied sites
The Western Cape High Court has granted a final eviction order for various unlawful occupation sites in the CBD, including along Buitengracht Street, FW de Klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square taxi rank and the Foreshore.
Other areas are Helen Suzman Boulevard, Strand Street, Foreshore/N1, Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge.
The City said dignified transitional shelter at its Safe Spaces remained available for those requiring this service.
“The sheriff of the court is permitted to evict any remaining unlawful occupants if needed after July 30.
“The order includes a standing interdict against any further unlawful occupation of these areas and City-owned public spaces by respondents identified in the application,” the City said.
The ruling comes after a protracted court process. Judgment was handed down on Tuesday.
“The City welcomes this order, which will enable the restoration of public places for all to use in Cape Town’s CBD,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
The City said over time, City Social Development officials have made repeated offers of social assistance to those unlawfully occupying public spaces in the city, including offers of dignified transitional shelter at NGO-run night shelters and City-run Safe Spaces. Safe Spaces aim to reintegrate people into society, or reunite them with family. Services include transitional shelter coupled with social programmes to assist people off the streets sustainably.
“Where offers of help to get off the streets have been persistently refused, we continue to seek the court’s help as a last resort. No person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs, while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and social assistance,” Hill-Lewis said.
Activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) said the high court decision granting the eviction orders underscored the ongoing struggle for housing rights and social justice in the city.
NU said addressing homelessness required sustained and dedicated efforts beyond legal victories.
NU attorney Dr Jonty Cogger said: “The eviction of vulnerable communities from public spaces highlights systemic issues that perpetuate homelessness, including historic injustices and inadequate housing policies. A single eviction order, without addressing the underlying causes of homelessness and ensuring alternative sustainable housing solutions, risks perpetuating cycles of displacement and marginalisation.”
The high court granted the City two similar eviction orders in recent months for central Cape Town. The sheriff carried out eviction orders for the remaining unlawful occupants at the Green Point Tennis Courts on February 22, and in the vicinity of the Nelson Mandela Boulevard intersection with Hertzog Boulevard, Old Marine Drive, and Christiaan Barnard Bridge on April 10.
Cape Times