The Cape High Court has granted an interim order halting the eviction of backyard dwellers who occupied unfinished homes built as part of the N2 Gateway project in Delft.
The Anti-Eviction Campaign claimed a major victory on Monday after it helped occupiers get the interdict, just as police had begun to evict occupiers of the homes.
The court order assured a second chance for homeless people over the festive period, and forced police to allow those they had already evicted to return.
Last week backyard dwellers, who had been waiting for housing for "many years" and had the so-called "white cards" to prove they had applied for housing, began occupying newly-built government houses in Delft without permission.
On Friday last week, police intervened on the basis of a 14-month-old court order and evicted the occupiers. Several people were arrested and appeared in the Bellville magistrate's court on Christmas Eve.
But last weekend many of the evicted people moved back in and police, supported by army units, moved into the township on Sunday and prepared to begin evicting them again.
But the court order now temporarily suspends the eviction order police had been using, dated October 30, 2006, said Anti-Eviction Campaign co-ordinator Ashraf Cassiem.
"The residents will now appear in court again on January 3 to hear the judge's final ruling," he said on day, adding that the judge had also "denied the government's housing agent, Thubelisha Homes, a new eviction order".
Cassiem said the government would have to rethink the whole N2 Gateway project.
"This is the pet project of the Minister of Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu, and she wants to push it through against all odds," he said.
"The problem is, the government wants to do anything that makes life easier for them, not for the people. The backyard dwellers have been on the waiting lists for many years already and they see new arrivals in the area get homes before them." He denied it was "a racial thing".
"People from all communities have been living in backyards, rented shacks and so on for years and they are still waiting for homes," he said.
Cassiem said his organisation was helping residents investigate the possibility of taking action for unlawful arrest because police had allegedly arrested them with an illegal, outdated court order.
- Cape Argus
The Anti-Eviction Campaign claimed a major victory on Monday after it helped occupiers get the interdict, just as police had begun to evict occupiers of the homes.
The court order assured a second chance for homeless people over the festive period, and forced police to allow those they had already evicted to return.
Last week backyard dwellers, who had been waiting for housing for "many years" and had the so-called "white cards" to prove they had applied for housing, began occupying newly-built government houses in Delft without permission.
On Friday last week, police intervened on the basis of a 14-month-old court order and evicted the occupiers. Several people were arrested and appeared in the Bellville magistrate's court on Christmas Eve.
But last weekend many of the evicted people moved back in and police, supported by army units, moved into the township on Sunday and prepared to begin evicting them again.
But the court order now temporarily suspends the eviction order police had been using, dated October 30, 2006, said Anti-Eviction Campaign co-ordinator Ashraf Cassiem.
"The residents will now appear in court again on January 3 to hear the judge's final ruling," he said on day, adding that the judge had also "denied the government's housing agent, Thubelisha Homes, a new eviction order".
Cassiem said the government would have to rethink the whole N2 Gateway project.
"This is the pet project of the Minister of Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu, and she wants to push it through against all odds," he said.
"The problem is, the government wants to do anything that makes life easier for them, not for the people. The backyard dwellers have been on the waiting lists for many years already and they see new arrivals in the area get homes before them." He denied it was "a racial thing".
"People from all communities have been living in backyards, rented shacks and so on for years and they are still waiting for homes," he said.
Cassiem said his organisation was helping residents investigate the possibility of taking action for unlawful arrest because police had allegedly arrested them with an illegal, outdated court order.
- Cape Argus
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