Reprinted from iol.co.za, by Nicola Daniels – 2024-09-09
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) had until the weekend to return building materials and personal property of people occupying an erf in on Old Marine Drive following a court order on Friday.
Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) secured an interdict after Prasa Protection Services and other security officers allegedly demolished homes and confiscated building materials and people’s personal belongings.
Western Cape High Court Judge Thandazwa Ndita on Friday confirmed a temporary interdict granted on August 29, and ordered Prasa to return and restore the applicants’ materials and personal property that they were dispossessed of on August 19 and 22.
The parastatal was also ordered to reconstruct the applicants’ temporary dwelling structures within 24 hours of the granting of the order.
“In the event that the first respondent (Prasa) fails to return the applicants’ property, the first respondent is ordered to replace and construct for those individual applicants who were evicted on 19 August 2024 and 22 August 2024, temporary habitable dwellings that afford shelter, privacy and amenities at least equivalent to those that were destroyed, and/or disposed of, and/or damaged, and which are capable of being dismantled, at the site at which their previous shelters were demolished, within 24 hours of the granting of this order,” the court ruled.
The residents had been in occupation of the property for about 20 years, according to their legal representatives.
On behalf of those affected, NU argued that, according to the PIE (Prevention of Illegal Eviction) Act, no one may be evicted from their home without a court order taking into account all relevant circumstances.
During the eviction, according to NU, Prasa Protection Services and other security officers treated the occupiers with complete disregard for their human dignity.
“A 64-year-old man was stabbed by a security officer during the illegal demolition of his home and is currently still struggling with pain as a result. Many other occupiers faced intimidation, threats of violence and xenophobic insults.”
Prasa argued that other parties relevant to the application such as security companies and the municipality also needed to be included in the matter and that the court needed to reject photographic and video evidence as hearsay for “failure to authenticate the evidence of the pictures and videos that were submitted in court”.
Following the ruling, Dr Jonty Cogger, attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre, said: “This is an absolute vindication of the constitutional right not to be evicted without a court order and a celebration of why we have a Constitution that prevents this type of criminal behaviour by state entities. This is a celebration of our human rights and our Constitution.”
NU said it would be doing a site visit on Monday to check if Prasa adhered to the court order. Prasa did not respond to requests for comment.
For further information
Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.
