Category Archives: eviction

Update on the Court Application to Stop Evictions at the eKhenana Land Occupation

Friday, 28 December 2018
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Update on the Court Application to Stop Evictions at the eKhenana Land Occupation

Yesterday our movement filed an application to prevent any further evictions in our eKhenana Land Occupation in Cato Crest. The court adjourned this matter indefinitely until further information from both parties is gathered.

The Municipality urged the court to give them time to formulate their supplementary affidavit. Even though the interdict was not granted, we consider the court’s response to be valuable because while the matter is in court the Municipality is not allowed to continue with the evictions and the community is not allowed to continue to build more structures.  Continue reading

M&G: ANC:1 Shackdwellers:0

Please note that (1) the councillor's office was brunt down before the AbM branch was formed, (2) the eviction and not a protest became violent when Mngomezulu was shot, (3) the municipality are just lying when they claim that they have protected the shacks of the people that have been to court and that the occupiers are 'new', (4) witnesses deny that Mngomezulu stabbed anyone and no evidence has been brought to say that he did stab anyone and (5) the City's general court order against all land occupations in Durban cannot invalidate the constitution, the law or specific court orders and will not stand up in court.

http://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-27-00-anc-1-shack-dwellers-0

ANC 1: Shack dwellers 0

Manqoba Nxumalo

A housing rights activist is fighting for his life in a Durban hospital following a protest that turned violent when the Durban police's land invasion unit recently demolished shacks in the city's Cato Crest informal settlement.

At least 18 shacks were demolished on September 21 at Cato Crest, about 7km from Durban.

Activist Nkosinathi Mngomezulu, who is currently in the intensive care unit of the city's King Edward Hospital, was shot in the stomach by the land invasion unit during the protest.

For the past few months the informal settlement has been a site of battle between two warring groups; the ANC and the social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo.

The land occupation has resulted in considerable conflict, with local councillor Mzimuni Ngiba's offices and a community hall being burned down recently.

Several activists were arrested and later released.

Two housing rights activists, Nkululeko Gwala and Thembinkosi Qumelo, were assassinated and several shackdwellers were displaced.

The ongoing battle is over the delivery of houses to this small community of shack dwellers.

Since March, Cato Crest residents have occupied an unused piece of land owned by the municipality, in an operation dubbed "Marikana".

Mayor James Nxumalo blamed the occupation on migrants mainly from the Eastern Cape.

On September 1, the municipality demolished Cato Crest shacks in violation of an undertaking made to the Durban high court on August 22, that it would halt evictions pending the finalisation of the application for a final order.

The next day local residents, assisted by Abahlali baseCato Crest – a newly formed branch of Abahlali baseMjondolo – went to the Durban high court to stop the evictions.

An urgent interdict was granted and restrained the municipality from evicting the residents or demolishing their structures without a court order.

The court ordered the municipality to construct "temporary habitable dwellings that afford shelter, privacy and amenities at least equivalent to those destroyed".

The residents were represented by the Socioeconomic Rights Institute's Durban correspondent, Nichols Attorneys, and advocate David Saks.

The parties agreed to a court order that directed the legal representatives of the parties to meet at the ­settlement on September 17 to identify and mark the residents' shacks.

However, the illegal evictions at Cato Crest continued over the weekend of September 14 and 15, despite the interdict.

The General Council of the Bar has joined the fray, condemning the recent evictions as a violation of a court order.

However, the Durban municipality argued that the Cato Crest issue is more complicated because it already has a court order authorising it to demolish any new structures on illegal land and that it acted based on the strength of that order.

"In Cato Crest we agreed to go and mark the shacks that were already in place as per the court order but then we realised there are new structures that are being erected in total abuse of the court order and those are the structures that we are demolishing," the city's spokesperson, Thabo Mofokeng, said.

He added that they have a standing policy to remove all people who invade land and, based on that, they could act on any structure erected illegally within the municipality.

He also alleged that Mngomezulu stabbed one of their employees, whom he refused to name, during last weekend's stand-off and was shot in self-defence.

Academic and social commentator Richard Pithouse said the drama is "about protecting the interests of the ruling party".

"Party supporters have built shacks in the same area without consequence. These are political evictions. And politics is being openly mediated through ethnicity," Pithouse said.

"Mpondo people are being presented as having no right to this city and the Zulus among them as disloyal."

Durban High Court Grants Cato Crest Residents an Interim Order Interdicting the eThekwini Municipality against Evictions

23 August 2013
Abahlali BaseMjondolo Press Statement

Durban High Court grants Cato Crest residents an interim order interdicting the eThekwini Municipality from Demolishing and Evicting them from their homes

On Tuesday 13 August 2013 the eThekwini Municipality demolished homes of shack dwellers in the Cato Crest land occupation. As usual these demolitions were not authorised by an order of the court. This is not just immoral. It is also illegal. The people who were left homeless after these evictions were iisolated from the current housing development in the area because the majority of them come from the Eastern Cape and have been labelled as tenants. This was also confirmed at the beginning of the year when Cato Crest residents were protesting and demanding houses. Nigel Gumede said that these are unknown people. He said that most of them come from the Eastern Cape and also called them as tenants. This is a very dangerous politic that is trying to weaken the poor by dividing us.

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Housing corruption, eviction and demolition in Cato Crest right now

Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Abahlali baseCato Crest press statement

Housing corruption, eviction and demolition in Cato Crest right now

After Nkululeko Gwala was murdered for speaking against corruption and for calling for a fair and transparent allocation of housing in Cato Crest, activists in the area have continued to receive death threats.

Yesterday a local ANC member who is also in an ANC local committee was illegally allocated a house. Like so many others he was rewarded for being loyal to the party. Abahlali noted this and started questioning the rightfulness of this ANC member to get a house. As always our members were threatened and special party meeting was held to discuss how the ruling party should deal with out movement. Residents were in fear the whole night as the intimidation of those who speak out continues.

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Legal Aid refuses to stand for Abahlali baseWyebank in Court

Legal Aid refuses to stand for Abahlali baseWyebank in Court

By Sthembiso Shozi

On the 8th of August the community of Wyebank shack dwellers will go against the eThekwini municipality in the Durban High court with no legal representation concerning an eviction case.

Abahlali baseWyebank who have lived in the area for more than 15 years received an eviction order on the 3rd of July from the court, lodged by the eThekwini municipality.

According to the Municipality the Wyebank shack inhabitants are occupying a land that belongs to the municipality. The same land that is said to be claimed by other numerous undisclosed owners. This then led to Legal Aid refusing to support this community. Their reply was they are busy, caught up with other cases. Continue reading