Cape Town - City of Cape Town mayor Dan Plato has condemned the behaviour displayed by the law enforcement officers caught on video where they removed a naked man from his shack while responding to an illegal land invasion in Khayelitsha.
In the video, the Cape Town enforcement officers violently ejected the naked man from his shack. They are seen ejecting the naked man from his shack, before throwing him to the ground and repeatedly preventing him from returning to the shack.
According to some on social media, the man had apparently been taking a bath when City officials initiated the action.
"I want to make it clear that this is not the type of conduct that we tolerate in this city. This is why we have immediately suspended four officers while the matter is investigated without delay," Plato said.
"While the investigation into the conduct of the law enforcement officers and the circumstances surrounding the situation is ongoing, as the mayor of this city, I want to acknowledge that (the gentleman's) dignity was impaired and I am truly sorry for what he experienced."
Plato specifically addressed "the misinformation" shared and said that while evictions were not permitted under the lockdown, the courts, as well as the Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu, have "made it clear that municipalities across South Africa have a duty to prevent illegal land invasions".
"This particular area in Khayelitsha was illegally invaded during the first weeks of the national lockdown and the City responded to requests from the local community to remove the illegally erected structures. The City-owned land has been earmarked for the installation of services for the surrounding community."
In April this year, the Western Cape High Court court ruled evictions of residents in Empolweni, whose homes were demolished by the City of Cape Town over the Easter weekend, was unlawful.
The group, who were represented by the Legal Resources Centre, were allowed to return to the land and re-erect their dwellings.
According to the Legal Resources Centre, the list the court accepted was for 49 households. No other person was allowed to occupy the land or build any structures on it outside of the 49 households given permission by the court.
Plato said: "The judge also emphasised that the City has a responsibility to protect the land against invasion and is allowed to remove any new illegally erected structures with immediate effect. Since then, there have been near daily attempts to further invade the land.
"Our officers have a responsibility to conduct themselves with professionalism and to respect our residents at all times, regardless of any provocation or resistance to co-operate. At the same time, our officers need to know that if they carry out their duties professionally when enforcing the law, they will have the full support of this administration and all law abiding residents."
He said that efforts to prevent illegal land invasions across South Africa required an increasing amount of resources from local municipalities and provinces.
"From 2018 to date, 357 hectares of private and public land has been invaded in Cape Town alone.
"Earlier this week I wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting that he call an urgent meeting with all spheres of government to address a sustainable and co-ordinated way forward as the limited resources allocated to municipalities, combined with legislative constraints, make the prevention of unlawful land occupation increasingly difficult," Plato said.