Cape Town - The evictions of a 400-strong community from Sanral land amid bitter winter weather in Lwandle were illegal and reminiscent of apartheid-era forced removals, Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu told MPs on Thursday.
Although Sanral had obtained an interim court order to prevent imminent invasions in January, “the court order was not an eviction order… The evictions were illegal”, Sisulu said when submitting the report of the inquiry she established in June.
Outlining its findings, Sisulu said Sanral, the City of Cape Town, Cape Town metro police, police and the sheriff of the Strand all acted “irregularly” and “illegally” as the interim court order had only allowed action to stave off further land invasion.
“Sanral knew that, and all the agencies that co-operated with Sanral knew that. The court order was not an eviction. The court did not authorise the removal of any persons or structures already erected on the land. Therefore, the evictions on June 2 and 3 this year were illegal.”
Instead all role players pretended they knew nothing, saw nothing and took responsibility for nothing, the minister added.
Describing the evictions as “an indictment on us”, Sisulu said what happened in Lwandle was “just a microcosm of what happens in various other provinces”, as recently as August when the courts overturned an eThekwini eviction as irregular.
“Poor people still suffer the indignity of the forced removals of the past,” Sisulu said, adding it appeared that when there was a need to protect the wealthy, the rights of the poorest of the poor were dispensable. “The eviction was a deplorable act.”
The inquiry also found the land at Nomzamo was unlawfully occupied, and that could not be allowed. “We do not condone illegal invasion of land…
“However, there are laws and processes that prescribe how these (evictions) should be carried out, and (they) are binding on us,” Sisulu said.
Sanral, under pressure over Gauteng’s unpopular e-tolls, declined to comment on Thursday.
“We have not seen the report. It would not be prudent for us to make a comment,” said spokesman Vusi Mona.
Thursday’s mini-debate in the House preceded the official tabling of the report and its consideration by the parliamentary human settlement committee.
As an acerbic political war of words erupted over the Lwandle evictions, proceedings in the House also erupted in politicking.
Human settlements committee chairperson Nocawe Noncedo Mafu sharply criticised the DA-led Cape Town administration, reminding everyone of Premier Helen Zille’s “refugee” description of black South Africans moving from the Eastern to the Western Cape.
Her comments came after calls from various opposition parties that evictions countrywide, including in Lenasia, needed to come under scrutiny to improve people’s lives and ensure cities become more friendly.
DA MP Makashule Gana said “this is not a Cape Town issue, this is a nationwide issue affecting many municipalities, especially metropolitan municipalities”.
As the matter stood now, the city was still awaiting Sanral’s permission to erect toilets and electricity supply for the Lwandle families. Earlier this month, the Lwandle inquiry submitted its 296-page report to Sisulu.
At the time, its chairman, advocate Denzil Potgieter, briefly outlined some of the recommendations, which would now be processed by Parliament.
These include legislative changes to the court processes so municipalities are present when courts hear eviction applications, whether property owners did enough to protect against invasions and an independent input on potential hardships and the availability of alternative accommodation.
Political Bureau