Police and the city's anti-land invasion unit clashed with Hangberg residents for the second day, as residents tried to stop authorities from dismantling shacks on a firebreak on the slopes of the Sentinel.
Officials said a shack had been built overnight after the city had dismantled 29 unoccupied shacks on Tuesday.
A few rocks and at least one flare were thrown at police and the city employees this morning. Police responded by firing rubber bullets. The morning was punctuated with sporadic stone throwing from residents and rubber bullets being shot by police. The only injury reported was a metro police who was hit in the face with the flare. Police also took at least two more people into custody.
Officials said a shack had been built overnight after the city had dismantled 29 unoccupied shacks on Tuesday.
A few rocks and at least one flare were thrown at police and the city employees this morning. Police responded by firing rubber bullets. The morning was punctuated with sporadic stone throwing from residents and rubber bullets being shot by police. The only injury reported was a metro police who was hit in the face with the flare. Police also took at least two more people into custody.
On Wednesday, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille claimed that a major drug and crime cartel operated on the mountain, adding that the cartel was behind the violence.
She said this cartel wanted to prevent the development of the area as development would mean there would be road access up the mountain to its hideout. She was speaking at a Western Cape cabinet meets business meeting.
For three years they had tried to upgrade the Hangberg community and it had been difficult because there was so much drug and alcohol abuse, Zille said.
Yesterday, various community organisations said that for more than a decade nothing had been done to build houses for the homeless people of Hout Bay.
"For all these years, the leaders in the community have been able to sway people not to build on the land in question. The City of Cape Town's reluctance to address the housing problem in Hout Bay has frustrated the residents. Now the people's patience is running out," they said.
On Tuesday, authorities were able to dismantle only 29 shacks after a battle between Hangberg residents and the police, metro police and city law enforcement officers. Police were pelted with rocks, flares, and petrol bombs.
Police fired at the mob with rubber bullets and arrested 62 people. At least 15 metro police and city law enforcement officers were treated for cuts and bruises.
Last night, the showdown moved to Hout Bay police station, where hundreds of people protested, demanding the release of the 62. People from the Imizamo Yethu informal settlement joined the Hangberg residents' protest.
Police later released seven people. Fifty-five people were to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court today on charges of public violence.
Minutes before the 55 were expected to appear, four minibus taxis crammed with pupils arrived at the court. The children, some brandishing steel poles and banners, jumped from the taxis to protest outside the court.
"We were supposed to write exams yesterday but couldn't because our school was closed," said one pupil. "It's closed again today because of the violence and police are blocking the streets."
There was confusion over which court the 55 would appear in. At the time of going to press, magistrate Goolam Bawa adjourned for a break to clear up the confusion.
The Western Cape Education Department closed Hout Bay High School and Sentinel Primary yesterday and today.
Bronagh Casey, spokesperson for Education MEC Donald Grant said preliminary exams at Hout Bay Secondary had to be postponed again. She said the school had opened today but closed again because of low attendance and safety concerns. The exams would now be written during the holidays. She said Sentinel Primary was open but many pupils were absent.
On Tuesday night, police officers deployed from other areas guarded the entrance to the police station, preventing the protesters from entering.
Relatives of those arrested milled around the premises.
Quinton Mento said he was trying to get information about his 19-year-old daughter who had been detained. He is among the 54 families facing an uncertain future after the city indicated it would seek an eviction order for families occupying shacks on the Sentinel.
He said he had lived on the Sentinel's slopes for 22 years, and in Hout Bay for 47 years.
"There is no way they are going to make us move. If they come with force again, we will have to do what we did today. We will never let them do this. Zille has declared war on us."
If the government failed to give them proper housing, it had no right to evict them, he said.
City of Cape Town spokeswoman Kylie Hatton confirmed that 29 "unoccupied" homes had been demolished. The city had first indicated 17 buildings had been demolished. It then revised this figure to 20. The city would seek eviction orders for the 54 occupied homes still standing on the firebreak on the Sentinel's slopes.
The Hangberg residents also attacked the Panorama Hill complex, an upmarket block of flats at the entrance to Hangberg, damaging windows and several vehicles parked in the complex, as they pelted the building with rocks.
- Cape Times
Yesterday, various community organisations said that for more than a decade nothing had been done to build houses for the homeless people of Hout Bay.
"For all these years, the leaders in the community have been able to sway people not to build on the land in question. The City of Cape Town's reluctance to address the housing problem in Hout Bay has frustrated the residents. Now the people's patience is running out," they said.
On Tuesday, authorities were able to dismantle only 29 shacks after a battle between Hangberg residents and the police, metro police and city law enforcement officers. Police were pelted with rocks, flares, and petrol bombs.
Police fired at the mob with rubber bullets and arrested 62 people. At least 15 metro police and city law enforcement officers were treated for cuts and bruises.
Last night, the showdown moved to Hout Bay police station, where hundreds of people protested, demanding the release of the 62. People from the Imizamo Yethu informal settlement joined the Hangberg residents' protest.
Police later released seven people. Fifty-five people were to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court today on charges of public violence.
Minutes before the 55 were expected to appear, four minibus taxis crammed with pupils arrived at the court. The children, some brandishing steel poles and banners, jumped from the taxis to protest outside the court.
"We were supposed to write exams yesterday but couldn't because our school was closed," said one pupil. "It's closed again today because of the violence and police are blocking the streets."
There was confusion over which court the 55 would appear in. At the time of going to press, magistrate Goolam Bawa adjourned for a break to clear up the confusion.
The Western Cape Education Department closed Hout Bay High School and Sentinel Primary yesterday and today.
Bronagh Casey, spokesperson for Education MEC Donald Grant said preliminary exams at Hout Bay Secondary had to be postponed again. She said the school had opened today but closed again because of low attendance and safety concerns. The exams would now be written during the holidays. She said Sentinel Primary was open but many pupils were absent.
On Tuesday night, police officers deployed from other areas guarded the entrance to the police station, preventing the protesters from entering.
Relatives of those arrested milled around the premises.
Quinton Mento said he was trying to get information about his 19-year-old daughter who had been detained. He is among the 54 families facing an uncertain future after the city indicated it would seek an eviction order for families occupying shacks on the Sentinel.
He said he had lived on the Sentinel's slopes for 22 years, and in Hout Bay for 47 years.
"There is no way they are going to make us move. If they come with force again, we will have to do what we did today. We will never let them do this. Zille has declared war on us."
If the government failed to give them proper housing, it had no right to evict them, he said.
City of Cape Town spokeswoman Kylie Hatton confirmed that 29 "unoccupied" homes had been demolished. The city had first indicated 17 buildings had been demolished. It then revised this figure to 20. The city would seek eviction orders for the 54 occupied homes still standing on the firebreak on the Sentinel's slopes.
The Hangberg residents also attacked the Panorama Hill complex, an upmarket block of flats at the entrance to Hangberg, damaging windows and several vehicles parked in the complex, as they pelted the building with rocks.
- Cape Times
No comments:
Post a Comment