Cape Times - The group of Khoi activists who occupied several units in a District Six apartment complex on Saturday are to submit papers to the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday morning asking for a stay of an eviction order against them.
The group was meant to be evicted from 11 units on Wednesday morning, but wants a stay until the members are able to dispute the contents of the original eviction order in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.
Their papers state that the eviction order made by Judge Robert Henney on Monday had not stipulated what time they had to leave the units, and was therefore not applicable.
Tania Kleinhans, head of the Institute for Restoration of the Aborigines of South Africa, has been chosen by the group to put its case to the court tomorrow.
At this stage it is not clear if Kleinhans will be accompanied by a lawyer.
The papers set out how Kleinhans will argue the group’s case, that it be allowed to remain in the units: “We will show that the reclaiming of land process has been bedevilled with problems since inception,” state the papers.
“The voices of the claimants have not been listened to.”
The group will also argue that the “human dignity of the claimants has been compromised”, as some are homeless and live in backyards without electricity or running water.
Kleinhans will also argue that only a few legitimate claimants have been able to move back to District Six.
The group occupied the units in the housing development on Saturday, claiming the area as “ancestral Khoi land”.
On Monday, Western Cape High Court Judge Henney granted an interim eviction order against the group, saying the claimants had to leave the units on Tuesday.
If the group did not vacate the units, Henney said, the sheriff of the court was entitled to expel them on Wednesday with police aid.
But the group has vowed to stay.
The complex, completed in 2011, includes 115 units earmarked for beneficiaries of a District Six resettlement initiative.
The application to evict the group was brought by The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, together with the trust that manages the apartment complex.
The department said yesterday that the “legitimate” owners of the units were set to move in on Saturday, but this process had now been put on hold.
Each unit is valued at about R1.2 million.
Khoi-Mac, one of the group’s spokesmen, said if evicted they would move on to an open field opposite the complex.
Group member Arthur Martin said a handful of frail occupiers had left during the night, as they feared being “manhandled” by the police.
Cape Times