City compensates homeless people for wrongful eviction
VICTORY: Sidney Street parking lot occupiers in District Six get success
The City of Cape Town has compensated 46 homeless people living in District Six for the wrongful eviction and impounding of personal belongings it carried out last year.
The Sidney Street parking lot occupiers, represented by Ndifuna Ukwazi, took the City to court after its law enforcement unit in September 2021 evicted as many as 100 occupiers.
In October, the Western Cape High Court declared the City’s use of municipal by-laws to confiscate and “dispossess” tents, informal structures and personal possessions belonging to the occupiers unlawful in terms of Section 26(3) of the Constitution and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998.
It also prevented the City from evicting the occupiers without a court order.
Some of the occupiers were charged with contravening the by-law relating to Streets, Public Places, and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances and the Informal Trading By-law, while other occupiers were charged with contravening the Coastal By-law “to block or impede coastal access land or deface infrastructure relating to coastal access land”, reports the Cape Argus.
The City appealed against what it said was an untenable high court judgement to return all property or pay damages of R1 700 each as compensation.
However, in February, the high court ruled against the City and ordered it to compensate the 46 people.
Danielle Louw, Ndifuna Ukwazi lead attorney for the residents of Sydney Street, said the City needed to invest more time in seeking dignified alternatives to homelessness.
Spokesperson Luthando Tyalibongo said while the City had been granted leave to appeal against the ruling, the process would have been costly, time-consuming and with limited prospect of success in resolving the unlawful occupation.
Tyalibongo added that the City currently has a standing interdict to protect District Six restitution land from unlawful occupation, while national government had indicated its intention to join efforts to protect land in the historical area.