Homeless people evicted from Cape Town city centre
Homeless people were removed from several locations in downtown Cape Town on Thursday. (Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp)
- Dozens of homeless people live in Cape TownThe people housed in downtown Milan were evacuated along with their belongings on Thursday morning.
- In June, the Western Cape High Court ordered the City of Cape Town to relocate hundreds of people living on the streets in the city centre and surrounding areas.
- Voluntary relocations to City Safe Spaces began last week.
For dozens of homeless people living in several locations in downtown Cape Town, Thursday was D-Day.
Shortly before 9:00 a.m., according to GroundUp, chaotic scenes broke out on the foreshore as Cape Town City Police officers removed homeless people and loaded some of their belongings onto trucks.
The Western Cape High Court in June ordered the city to relocate hundreds of people living on the streets in the city centre and surrounding areas.
This followed a court battle between the City and homeless groups living on Buitengracht Street, FW de Klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square, Helen Suzman Boulevard, Strand Street, Foreshore/N1, Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge.
They were represented by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI).
Last week, the city provided “voluntary relocation assistance” to its safe spaces for people who have chosen to move.
READ | Toddler among homeless people evicted from Cape Town city centre
Among those removed from the Foreshore on Thursday were partners Janieldine Maulty and Anthea Abrahams, who have been living on the streets for years.
They told GroundUp they were afraid of losing important documents such as identity cards.
Maulty, who has been homeless for 20 years, said anyone can end up on the streets at some point.
As she watched her mattress and other belongings being loaded into a police trailer, Desiree Harris added that she has lived at the Foreshore site for the past five years.
She said she was not willing to move to another location.
Partners Janieldine Maulty and Anthea Abrahams. (Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp)
Desiree Harris, who says she has been living on the streets for five years, says she will not go to a safe space. (Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp)
Police officers conducted searches of homeless people. (Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp)
The belongings of the homeless people sleeping next to Mill Street were loaded into a moving truck. (Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp)
Nkosinathi Sithole, a senior lawyer at SERI, said it was of “great concern” that some people had not accepted the city’s offer to move to the Safe Space facility and were now at risk of eviction.
“This puts us in a difficult position… They obviously have nowhere to go and they have their reasons for not accepting the offer of accommodation,” he added.
According to Sithole, some people said they would return to their families.
By the time GroundUp arrived, most of the residents of the Mill Street site had already moved away and city officials were busy loading tents into trailers.
District 77 Councilwoman Francine Higham was at the Mill Street location.
She told GroundUp that the city had given residents time to accept offers of alternative accommodation.
Higham said:
I think today it’s really about protecting our public spaces. A lot of these occupants are right on the side of the road. It’s very dangerous for them and for the drivers.
“We want everyone to have decent accommodation and we want people to be accommodated in our emergency shelters. The offer of alternative accommodation is always open,” she added.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said earlier this week that the city has made great efforts to provide assistance to people living on the streets.
“No person has the right to indefinitely reject all offers of social support while reserving a public space exclusively for themselves,” he added in a statement.
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “A total of 32 people were taken to the city’s safe space in Green Point, while seven others were relocated to areas of their choice – including a family of three who were taken to the provincial Social Development Department for accommodation.”
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He added that when leaving these locations, people are “asked to take all their personal belongings with them.”
“If personal items are not collected, they will be documented and stored at the city’s facility in Ndabeni, where they can be collected by the owner within six months.”
Further deportations are likely to take place in the coming days.
