’WE BELONG’
Cape Town - A group of informal dwellers calling themselves Singabalapha (we belong here) returned to the Western Cape High Court on Monday in a bid to stop the City of Cape Town’s appeal on its interdict to evict them.
The group consists of about 50 people living in corrugated structures on the pavement at 414 Arcadia House, Main Road in Observatory, who previously erected tents, almost three years ago.
Not so long ago, in October 2020, the group won an anti-eviction case in the high court against the City, where it was ordered to refrain from confiscating personal property and belongings from them.
Singabalapha chairperson Barbara Vuza said the appeal was heard by a full bench of high court judges, and had faith that they would uphold the original ruling.
“We will not allow the City to abuse its by-laws to evict us and other poor residents of Cape Town," Vuza said.
Activist Jared Sacks said the judgment was reserved, and the judges would apply their minds and decide.
Sacks said the City refused to accept a declaratory order. He said it was hard to tell how the judges would decide.
“They were mostly friendly, but unsure if they might get cold feet about confirming the order which will have big ramifications for many people in similar situations,” Sacks said.
The City said it would comment at a later stage, because the matter was still before the court.
Singabalapha member Sinazo Jordan said: “This City fights the poor by all means. Last year, instead of building houses, they introduced new by-laws (the Informal Settlements by-law and amendments to the Streets by-law)."
Jordan said it used those by-laws to go around the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act, which they did not like.
She said the City would rather waste money fighting poor people instead of building houses for them.
“What happened to ‘The City that works for you’? Does this refer to the whites only,” asked Jordan.
She said the City had made sure that they stayed on the pavement for over two years without basic services.
“They don’t provide us with water, with toilets, or with electricity. This City does not respect our human rights,” Jordan said.
She said the City’s law enforcement was a barbaric regime that existed to harass poor people, evict them and make them suffer.
“We will fight this City. We will go to the highest courts till justice is served to the poor in our country. We will go to the streets if necessary,” she said.