SCA rejects City’s appeal on evictions without judicial supervision

The matter before the SCA stems from the public eviction of a naked Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha home in July 2020.

The matter before the SCA stems from the public eviction of a naked Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha home in July 2020.

Published Dec 23, 2021

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CAPE TOWN - The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed in large part, with costs, an appeal brought by the City of Cape Town against the interim decision of the Western Cape High Court prohibiting the City from conducting evictions without judicial supervision.

The matter before the SCA stems from the public eviction of a naked Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha home in July 2020.

Following this, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Qolani and the Housing Assembly (a social justice movement) launched an urgent application in the high court to prevent the City from evicting persons and demolishing structures, whether occupied or unoccupied, during the national state of disaster, without a court order.

The application was for interim relief (Part A), pending a decision on Part B, which primarily dealt with the constitutionality of the City’s conduct and its Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU).

The hearing in Part B was finalised on November 5 by a full court of the Western Cape. Judgment was reserved, and is expected to be delivered early next year.

In the SCA matter, Judge Caroline Heaton-Nicholls found: “Significantly, the City is not precluded from evicting persons and/or carrying out demolitions. It is merely prohibited from doing so without judicial oversight. There can be no irreparable harm if the City is compelled to seek a court order before evicting persons during the national state of disaster, and pending Part B.”

The SCA found that the only issue, other than costs, was the monetary compensation of R2 000 that the City had to make in lieu of loss of personal belongings and the return of the building materials.

The SCA upheld the City’s appeal on that point.

Cape Times

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