Pretoria - The tense situation regarding hundreds of foreign nationals camping outside the UN High Commission for Refugees in Brooklyn, east of the city, is about to get nasty.
It emerged yesterday that the City of Tshwane has been thrust into a legal bid initiated by residents in Brooklyn and Waterkloof to evict them.
The Brooklyn and Eastern Citizens Association and Waterkloof Homeowners Association indicated in an urgent court application that it wanted the City to enforce its by-laws. The policy in question prohibits campers from cooking and making fires on pavements.
Their application is likely to be heard in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on November 5.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele, his Home Affairs counterpart Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and the UN High Commission were named as respondents.
Together with the station commander at Brooklyn police station, Cele and Motsoaledi must identify those among the group who were in the country illegally, according to residents. They wanted those fingered in unlawful activities to be arrested.
In terms of the court papers, the City would be taken to task for not enforcing by-laws related to waste management and solid waste, which prevented the dumping of litter.
“In terms of the public amenities by-laws the City of Tshwane can act against those who are preparing food and making fires in public amenities,” stated the court papers.
The campers were also faulted for sleeping in the streets, using them as ablution facilities and littering.
The applicants said they wanted the City to prevent campers from erecting structures or interfering with public spaces.
They said it was illegal for people to engage in gatherings without prior
written permission from the municipality.
There were complaints that foreign nationals, referred to as “unknown protesters”, were parking their vehicles on the pavements, especially after hours and at night.
“The unknown protesters don’t have better rights than the citizens and inhabitants of the affected areas, who are incidentally all ratepayers in the area,” said the applicants.
They also expressed concern that businesses in the area were suffering as protesters were “not respecting their rights and are utilising their facilities for their own purpose”.
The purpose of the application would be to obtain an urgent interdict against the foreign nationals.
Residents want the City and Motsoaledi to be ordered to provide safe and intermediary accommodation to campers found to be legally authorised to reside in the country.
Yesterday, the foreign nationals appeared to be unperturbed by calls for them to vacate the site, saying they would remain there until the UN decided to evacuate them from the country to safer places elsewhere in the world.