Demonstration over land outside court
MORE than 200 hundred residents from Wallacedene in Kraaifontein demonstrated outside the Western Cape High Court yesterday over a land invasion case against the city.
Community leader Ntembeko Nongena said residents erected structures on land after they were removed as backyarders due to new housing developments.
“We no longer have spaces where we had lived before because we were backyarders and... our landlords did not have space for us anymore. So we moved to that piece of land and erected our structures, which were demolished by the municipality, (which told) us that we had no right to that land,” he said.
“The first time we erected our structures there was in 2012. Our structures were demolished and we... decided as community leaders to come to the City of Cape Town last year to ask the city to give us land.”
He said community leaders had asked the municipality for use of the land and were told the municipality had plans for it and that there was no alternative land.
Nongena said that response resulted in its illegal invasion.
“A lot of people don’t have places to stay and have lost their (building) materials because of the demolition by the municipality. We came here today (yesterday) to show to the court that we are prisoners who do not have places to stay. We came out in numbers to show that we need places to stay, and also to support our lawyer who is handling our case.”
He added that residents were hoping the court would decide in their favour as they desperately needed land.
“As you can see, we are a big number and we all need a piece of land to erect our structures and live. Even if the court decides against us, we are not willing to give up; we will deal with the government accordingly because there is nothing else we can do because that piece of land is the only land that is available for us to use.”
The residents claimed the municipality never offered them alternative land before the commencement of housing developments.
“And now when we take that land they send law enforcement and police to come and shoot us; some of our people have been severely injured in the process.” |