Hundreds of homeless people protested outside the Western Cape High Court yesterday in support of those who had been evicted from an open field in Tafelsig last month.
They had dubbed the field ‘New Horizons’ but police and the Anti-Land Invasion Unit forced them off the land. The Western Cape High Court granted an interdict to the City of Cape Town preventing illegal residents from occupying the land or erecting shacks on the field.
Last week more than 500 people protested in the city centre and signed individual forms opposing the interdict that has been in effect from May 17. Yesterday a group protested outside the High Court but were told that the interdict would remain in force.
Shortly before yesterday’s court proceedings, lawyers for the city and the backyard dwellers met with Western Cape Judge President John Hlope to discuss the case.
The city had asked that the case be heard on June 14 but the date was opposed by Lawyers for Human Rights’ Sheldon Magardie who argued that there would not be enough time for his clients to file documents and seek legal representation.
The case has now been postponed to July 27 and until then authorities may not remove occupants from the land. However, because of the interdict those on the land who have not built structures will be prevented from doing so.
On Tuesday the people who had invaded the land at Tafelsig pitched tents in the backyards of nearby houses after 100 law enforcement officers had prevented them from moving onto the vacant land in the suburb.
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