Cape Town – The lawyer for a group of homeless people who took the City and its safety bosses to court say they will leave it to the court to decide on the legalities of the case.
This after mayor Dan Plato issued a statement on Thursday in which he said it was “confusing as to why the applicants’ legal team has decided to add the political office-bearers to the contempt application”.
Last week, seven homeless
people launched an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court charging that Plato, mayoral
committee member for safety and security JP Smith and executive director of safety and security Richard Bosman were in contempt of court for allegedly allowing the confiscation of homeless people’s possessions to continue, despite an agreement that the city would not enforce or further issue fines and summonses until November,
pending an interdict application.
The applicants seek an order which includes a 30-day suspended prison sentence.
The lawyer for the homeless, Lucien Lewin from Dingley
Marshall Inc, said the City
submitted its answering papers by noon yesterday.
A statement issued by Plato’s office read: “Neither the mayor nor Alderman Smith issue instructions when it comes to enforcement action, nor do they take enforcement action, so attempting to hold them responsible for the alleged non-compliance with the court order is illogical.”
Lewin said: “We received the documents, which are quite
extensive, by 12pm. We need time to go through it.
“We will not prejudice our
clients’ case by not ensuring we have fully discerned the oppositions’ documents; therefore, the matter is unlikely to continue tomorrow.”
Responding to Plato’s comments, Lewin said: “We have a different view regarding the law. The court will have to make a determination accordingly.”
The case was initiated in winter, when the metro police’s Displaced Persons Unit issued 199 fines to the homeless for contravening a by-law which makes it unlawful to “obstruct pedestrian traffic on sidewalks”.