Download PDFThe City of Cape Town has applied for an interdict against 60 families who have lived on a piece of land in Mitchells Plain for several years. The interdict application will be heard tomorrow (28 March) in the Cape High Court. The families have nowhere else to go and the City should have provided them with housing by now.
The City claims that it wants to build a cemetery on this land. We see no reason why living humans should be evicted onto the streets for the prospect of a cemetery. The City should have provided for a cemetery for Mitchells Plain long ago not waited until so many destitute and jobless families were living on a piece of land for years and then used the cemetery as an excuse to evict them.
The City has not made any alternative accommodation available for these families. Blikkiesdorp is a crime filled nightmare where people were dumped over 15 years ago “in transit”, and very few ever got to move out. Anyway, it is full.
According to the families’ representative, Ashraf Cassiem: “This interdict aims to give law enforcement and police the right to act on the instruction of the City without the correct court oversight. That means the City could evict someone under false pretenses, using this interdict. It will effectively banish anyone from these erfs in Mitchells Plain. We will oppose this”.
Cassiem added that “the City has failed to provide any services for this community even though they have lived on this land for several years. They have no water,
electricity or sanitation and are only harassed daily by law enforcement”.
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Subject: Note: At the time of the release of the statement, 50 Cape Town families were facing an eviction deadline in Cape High Court to make way for a new cemetery.
This press statement was released by Social Justice News on 27 March 2024.
