EFF to help illegal land invaders
Illegal land invaders - some of them longtime residents of Thembalethu - gathered last Wednesday, 26 August, for guidance from EFF leaders against an eviction order. The order was served on a substantial number of residents in New Valley, an extended informal development on the outskirts of Thembalethu.
EFF provincial secretary Melikhaya Xego drove from Cape Town to assess the situation in New Valley, where he was joined by the party's regional secretary, Mbulelo Magwala, and several other EFF party members. The eviction order from the High Court in Cape Town lists George Municipality as applicant and was issued on 14 August. According to the EFF leadership, more than 1 000 squatters received eviction orders.
Xego said the meeting was merely to gather information for further discussions with the party's national leadership. Xego said George and Cape Town have the highest numbers of evictions in the Western Cape and that the EFF feels obliged to help those whose constitutional rights are being infringed upon.
On a request for comment, municipal spokesperson Chantel Edwards-Klose responded, "This matter is in the legal domain, currently under trial and therefore sub-judice. A statement will be made available in due course."
Ruling
Xego said the party recently achieved great success in helping several people in Cape Town to oppose eviction. Maverick Citizen reported that temporary interdicts were granted last Tuesday, 25 August, against the City of Cape Town and the police, prohibiting the city from conducting evictions and demolitions of occupied and unoccupied structures without judicial oversight. "Furthermore, evictions or demolitions of structures cannot take place whether occupied or unoccupied throughout the Metropole while the state of disaster remains in place, except in terms of an order of court duly obtained," reads the online article (www.dailymaverick.co.za). According to Vernon Seymour, a lawyer who has represented the Hangberg and Sir Lowry's Pass communities, the ruling sets a precedent that can be used in evictions or demolition matters before the court. Xego said in the Cape Town case, the court sided with the people and the city had to repay those families who lost their structures through demolition. "No one should be without a home during Covid-19 lockdown," said Xego. "We would like to try and help the people of New Valley."