Marievale opens up

The High Court in Pretoria yesterday gave Lawyers for Human Rights five days to provide the SA National Defence Force with the list of names of people who want to return to the Marievale army base after they were illegally evicted last year.

The defence force also has five days to furnish the lawyers with a list of all houses available for accommodation.

The ruling comes after the Lawyers for Human Rights, which is representing the community of Marievale, brought an application that Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and two of her officials should be held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the order to allow the community back onto the army base.

The initial order was granted in May and stated that residents should be allowed back in 30 days. To date, no residents have moved back and they continue to stay in a nearby shanty town.

Last week during arguments, advocate Taki Madima, for the minister, told the court that accommodation was made available for the residents but they refused to move back. He argued the defence force renovated the bungalows and spent over R1 million to make the place habitable.

Madima conceded that the department did not meet the deadline of 30 days given by Judge Norman Davis and attributed this to budget constraints. – ANA