A homeless woman has allegedly died of exposure after Metro Police and SAPS officers in Wynberg confiscated her bedding and personal belongings, according to an advocacy organisation.
The Homeless People’s Crisis Committee (HPCC) and members of the homeless community in Wynberg claim that Maria Visser died on June 2 from exposure to harsh weather conditions after the police conducted an “illegal raid” on May 17 and left her without blankets.
The raid occurred at 9pm near the Wynberg railway station, said Adrian Bezuidenhout, who also had his belongings confiscated. He said the police officers arrived in three trucks and did not show a court warrant.
“They didn’t tell us anything,” he said, standing in the rain near the Wynberg Home Affairs office, where he often slept. “‘. They just came and took everything.”
The HPCC planned to lay a formal charge of murder with the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, said MP Neville Hendricks (ID), the organisation’s chairperson.
“These people are extremely vulnerable,” he said. “For the city to act in the manner that it does, we must lay the blame at their door.”
Metro Police helped with the raid by removing cardboard and other materials, but the SAPS would have been responsible for getting a warrant, said Metro Police spokesperson Kevin Maxwell.
The SAPS was not available for comment.
‘They just came and took everything’
Councillor JP Smith, a member of the mayoral committee, said making a link between a police operation and a woman subsequently dying from exposure required a “stretch of the imagination”.
“We find street people dead on the street often,” he said. “To try to pin one of these deaths on law enforcement, I feel, is malicious.”
Homeless people should make an effort to secure a bed at a shelter or contact an outreach worker to prevent dying from exposure, Smith said.
If homeless people remained on the streets, Smith said, the city first warned the person that specific behaviours - such as urinating in public or obstructing a public place - were illegal, then ensured that an outreach worker was available, and finally insisted the person leave the area. Any personal possessions left behind were bagged and tagged to be returned later, he said.
Another homeless woman, Jennifer Muller, sat on a crate, wearing shoes a size too small. She said police officers had also confiscated her mattress, blankets and clothes. Pointing to the clothes she was wearing, she said: “This is all I’ve got - and the shoes are not even my size.”
The street people said their IDs had been lost in the raid. About 200 people lived on the streets in Wynberg, said Hendricks. - Cape Times
The Homeless People’s Crisis Committee (HPCC) and members of the homeless community in Wynberg claim that Maria Visser died on June 2 from exposure to harsh weather conditions after the police conducted an “illegal raid” on May 17 and left her without blankets.
The raid occurred at 9pm near the Wynberg railway station, said Adrian Bezuidenhout, who also had his belongings confiscated. He said the police officers arrived in three trucks and did not show a court warrant.
“They didn’t tell us anything,” he said, standing in the rain near the Wynberg Home Affairs office, where he often slept. “‘. They just came and took everything.”
The HPCC planned to lay a formal charge of murder with the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, said MP Neville Hendricks (ID), the organisation’s chairperson.
“These people are extremely vulnerable,” he said. “For the city to act in the manner that it does, we must lay the blame at their door.”
Metro Police helped with the raid by removing cardboard and other materials, but the SAPS would have been responsible for getting a warrant, said Metro Police spokesperson Kevin Maxwell.
The SAPS was not available for comment.
‘They just came and took everything’
Councillor JP Smith, a member of the mayoral committee, said making a link between a police operation and a woman subsequently dying from exposure required a “stretch of the imagination”.
“We find street people dead on the street often,” he said. “To try to pin one of these deaths on law enforcement, I feel, is malicious.”
Homeless people should make an effort to secure a bed at a shelter or contact an outreach worker to prevent dying from exposure, Smith said.
If homeless people remained on the streets, Smith said, the city first warned the person that specific behaviours - such as urinating in public or obstructing a public place - were illegal, then ensured that an outreach worker was available, and finally insisted the person leave the area. Any personal possessions left behind were bagged and tagged to be returned later, he said.
Another homeless woman, Jennifer Muller, sat on a crate, wearing shoes a size too small. She said police officers had also confiscated her mattress, blankets and clothes. Pointing to the clothes she was wearing, she said: “This is all I’ve got - and the shoes are not even my size.”
The street people said their IDs had been lost in the raid. About 200 people lived on the streets in Wynberg, said Hendricks. - Cape Times
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