WATCH: Cape Town enforcement officers violently eject naked man from shack

Published Jul 1, 2020

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Cape Town - An urgent investigation has been launched by the City of Cape Town after its law enforcement officials were caught on camera aggressively removing a naked man from his shack at the Empolweni informal settlement in Khayelitsha on Wednesday.

In the video, City officials 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 been apparently taking a bath when the City officials initiated the action.

City of Cape Town spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said that the actions of officers involved were being investigated with urgency, including other footage which the City has.

"Once the investigation has been completed, the appropriate action will be taken. The land in question belongs to the City of Cape Town and the City has conducted various operations to prevent illegal land occupation.

"After (being) removed, new attempts are made to invade again on a daily basis," Tyhalibongo said.

"The land is earmarked for installation of services to serve the broader community in the area.

"There is an interdict in place as well as a recent court order which allows only 49 households to temporarily remain on the land until after the lockdown. The City must also maintain this recent court order."

In April this year the Western Cape High Court court ruled that the evictions of the 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 is allowed to occupy the land or build any structures on it outside of the 49 households given permission by the court.

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