City of Cape Town attacks SAHRC after costs ruling on Strandfontein case

Judge Desai found that the matter was without merit, that the arguments of the City were without merit and they were obliged to pay costs. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency(ANA)

Judge Desai found that the matter was without merit, that the arguments of the City were without merit and they were obliged to pay costs. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency(ANA)

Published Mar 18, 2021

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Cape Town - The City has reacted with outrage and slurs against the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to a Western Cape High Court ruling in which it has been ordered to pay costs in its case against the commission on the homeless in Strandfontein, that it pursued and then abandoned.

In his ruling, Judge Siraj Desai rebuked the City for its treatment of human rights monitors accredited to the SAHRC at its camp for homeless people in Strandfontein.

Judge Desai found that the matter was without merit, that the arguments of the City were without merit and they were obliged to pay costs.

The judge said the City had acted appallingly by trying to muzzle the freedom of expression.

He found that monitors trying to enter the site were acting lawfully, and set aside interdicts granted to the City last year which were intended to block the monitors and the SAHRC from entering the site.

The City originally instituted court proceedings against the SAHRC and its monitors in May 2020, accusing them of interfering, without legal standing, in oversight of the camp.

A month later the City withdrew the interdict in a move described by the C19 People’s Coalition, an umbrella organisation of activists groups, as: “A fruitless and wasteful expenditure of taxpayer money for the purposes of stifling freedom of expression and protection of human rights.”

According to court rules, when a party abandons a matter they have to pay the costs to the other party, meaning at this point that the City will have to pay costs to the SAHRC and the monitors.

On Wednesday, in a statement issued from the mayor’s office, the City said: “Known political opportunists were deployed by SAHRC provincial Commissioner Chris Nissen to play politics and tell outright lies about South Africa’s biggest effort to help people living on the street.

“Nissen could conveniently avoid accountability for the untruths of these so-called monitors, and tellingly never issued a formal report of his own in the name of the SAHRC.

“Nissen’s SAHRC was unable to put politics aside and formally acknowledge, like the national government did, the major effort that went into caring for people living on the street in compliance with regulations. We further note their almost exclusive focus on Cape Town and not elsewhere in South Africa.”

The City said that whatever action it had taken to prevent the monitors from entering Strandfontein was needed to “protect our staff from harassment, and our operations from disruption by so-called monitors who behaved instead like political hooligans”.

Responding to the personal attack, Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said: “We are obviously happy with the judgment, but unfortunately the City has decided to become petty, accusing me of political malice.

“The fact is, they took us to court. They withdrew their application, the court ruled and they must respect the ruling.

“I don’t mind what they say about me personally. They can say whatever they like, but, demonising the SAHRC is in fact a direct attack on the Constitution.”

Recalling the events at Strandfontein, homeless activist Carlos Mesquita said: “On April 29, 2020, we had urgently put through a request as the newly formed Strandfontein Homeless Action Committee that represented the will of the homeless people in tent number two to meet with the City.

“The City had agreed to a meeting at 10am and then changed it to 3pm. At 3pm we were told that it wasn't possible to meet.

“Homeless people were demanding already that afternoon to be let out because the City had earlier announced that it would be closing Strandfontein for good on May 20, 2020 and that people would be bused out as of April 30. We thought this was irresponsible and potentially criminal, as nobody had any idea of our Covid-19 status at the time.”

Cape Argus