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inhumane evictions Archives | Eviction Lawyers South Africa

Sep 12
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PIE amendment homeless

New PIE bill must protect homeless

By | Eviction news, PIE

Reprinted from iol.com, by Siphokazi Vuso – 2022-09-08

Cape Town – Human rights group Ndifuna Ukwazi says it hopes a new Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Amendment Bill, 2022 introduced by the DA will be aligned with protecting the rights of the landless and homeless.

According to the draft bill the PIE Act “needs to be restricted in certain instances to prevent those unlawful occupiers, who have entered upon a property in bad faith, from using the PIE Act as a defence or delay tactic at the cost of the owner of the property”.

Ndifuna Ukwazi head of organising, Buhle Booi said they hoped the amendments would benefit residents who were being “strung along on a mythical waiting list”.

“We are also concerned that the DA’s position is regurgitating one side of the story, and does not account for addressing the systemic and historical issues relating to land occupations, especially given the history of the country. The actions of City of Cape Town law enforcement has inhumanly and illegally evicted families are testament to a culture of disdain for the laws of the country,” said Booi.

The DA called for interested parties and institutions to submit written representations on the proposed content of the draft Bill to the Speaker of the National Assembly within 30 days.

Representations can be delivered to the Speaker, New Assembly Building, Parliament Street, Cape Town; mailed to the Speaker at PO Box 15, Cape Town 8000; or e-mailed to speaker@parliament.gov.za and copied to legislation@da.org.za

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a Cape Town law firm of specialist eviction lawyers, now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction.

Further reading:

Sep 29
0

Red Ants evict Mahikeng residents who illegally occupied SABC properties

By | Eviction news, Evictions

Red Ants evict Mahikeng residents. Reprinted from the Sowetan Live, by Boitumelo Tshehle – 2021-09-28

More than 100 Mahikeng residents in the North West were left stranded on Tuesday after the Red Ants evicted them from an SABC block of flats and houses previously owned by Bop TV.

Children who were ready to go to school watched as their families’ valuables were taken away. The occupants said they could not go to work as a result of the eviction.

The group occupied the flats in May after the SABC sold them to a private company. They said they were not happy that the SABC took that decision without properly consulting the community.

In a call for the government to protect the flats and other buildings constructed during the Bophuthatswana era, residents occupied the place.

They said they heard that there was a court order to evict them but they should at least have been warned so that they could remove their belongings.

A security guard, Sello Maleke, said he lost his goods during the eviction. “I just bought a new bedroom suite. It’s a big loss for me as I worked so hard to save money for that bedroom suite,” he said.

Maleke said he previously lived in Dibate Village but took the opportunity to occupy one of the flats after he learnt that residents were taking over the residential area.

“I am just a security guard. I do not earn much. I have applied for an RDP house but I have been on the waiting list since 2016. I know it was wrong [to occupy the flats] but I needed a place to stay,” he said. The occupants’ spokesperson Lungile Mtatiwane said they were saddened by the move. “We woke up with heavy hearts. They came and destroyed our things without warning us. The SABC is fighting us,” he said.

Community leader Neo Morweng said the occupants have lost their battle to occupy the flats.

“This shows that our political leaders lack the will to govern. We have witnessed these cruel evictions before, and we call on the Mafikeng local municipality to implement a serviced stands programme to help people who find themselves in similar situations,” he said.

He said Mahikeng has a lot of backroom dwellers and people who live in government-owned properties. .

The SABC was granted an order by the North West High Court to evict the occupants last month. The public broadcaster said it decided to dispose of 20 houses and 60 flats and some of its non-core assets as part of the turnaround strategy.

SABC corporate affairs and marketing manager Gugu Ntuli confirmed that the North West sheriff of the court executed the eviction order. She said the process of transferring the properties to new owners was under way and that they were trying to protect them from illegal occupation.

“The SABC is in the process of disposing all its non-core assets, the bulk of which are residential properties owned by the public broadcaster in various provinces, including the North West province,” she said.

Ntuli said the eviction came as a result of numerous court applications that were instituted by the illegal occupants in an attempt to halt the eviction process.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a Cape Town law firm of specialist eviction lawyers, now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction.

Further reading:

Sep 01
0
City of Cape Town accused of taking homeless people’s belongings

City of Cape Town accused of taking homeless people’s belongings

By | Eviction news, Homeless

Reprinted from ENCA – 2021-08-30

CAPE TOWN – Homeless people in Cape Town have more to lose than just their make-shift shelters under the municipality’s by-laws.

The City has been accused of confiscating the personal possessions of homeless people.

One example is that of a woman who has had her life-saving ARV’s allegedly confiscated by law enforcement officers.

Shaun Herbert, who lives in Greenpoint, said he returned from shopping to find law enforcement at his tent.

“I asked my brother what was going on. He said law enforcement said we must take out our stuff, they’re going to confiscate our tents.

“I thought it was a joke. I left my stuff inside, I’ve got a big tent, we made it flat and then this officer came to me and said we have to take out all your belongings because we’re confiscating your tent. So I said, “why is this” so he said they’ve got an eviction order against us,” Herbert said.

“I asked him, where is the eviction order and he said I mustn’t worry about it, everybody just wants us away [from] here.”

Herbert said some of the tents were returned but the personal belongings have not been returned yet.

“All of us don’t want to be on the streets, we want to have normal lives. We also would like to take a hot bath, people don’t understand that we’ve got to wash in cold water, we’ve got to walk miles to get water because the City Council doesn’t allow us to take water [from] public toilets,” he said.

“We’ve got no other alternative. We want lives, we want jobs, we want to be recognised as people again. None of us have asked for this to happen.”

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a Cape Town law firm of specialist eviction lawyers, now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction.

Further reading: