Cape Town - A David and Goliath eviction battle is once again playing out in court as a group of residents, who have been living at the Circus School premises in Observatory, are threatened with eviction by the City.
On Thursday, the parties, which include the City and 30 residents as the Willow Arts Collective (WAC) represented by civil rights activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU), submitted their arguments before the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
This after the City brought an eviction application against the residents in 2019. The WAC have made the premises – which are home to several sporting facilities including FC Cape Town, who lease the land from the City – their home and have declined alternative accommodation in outlying areas of the metro, as it would “economically destroy them”.
The City submitted in argument that the residents living at the premises moved there subsequent to launching their litigation action and described it as “indirect expropriation of land”.
"Perhaps more importantly, the majority of the occupiers (ie, those who took occupation subsequent to the filing of the answering affidavits) can only be understood to have taken occupation deliberately and in a premeditated fashion.
“This matter does not concern occupiers who at any stage occupied the property lawfully. For all intents and purposes, the property has been hijacked and the actions of the respondents (particularly the majority of them who took occupation subsequent to the launching of this application) are akin to indirect expropriation of land.
It is submitted that these factors must be considered to weigh heavily against the occupiers when the relevant legal considerations are considered,” the City argued.
In their heads of argument, WAC, submitted: “In order to sustain themselves, the respondents started an organic community garden on the property to grow their own food and also began producing art and crafts for the wider community. They came together with other residents of Observatory and began calling themselves the Willow Arts Collective.
“Of those that have some form of work, many do so in the Observatory and Mowbray area and it is a huge cost-saving measure for them to reside close to where they work.
Many of the residents were at one point homeless, prior to finding a permanent home at the property. The area is also much safer for the respondents than residing in other places.”
They also argued that the City’s claims regarding what they plan to do with the property were purposely vague so as to side-step the issue of actual use of the land and if an eviction was necessary, abrogating their constitutional responsibility to provide housing for the poor.
In a statement, NU, said the City has offered to move the WAC to areas further away from the City in Philippi and Mfuleni, which have fewer opportunities for employment and self-sustainability.
“Most of the people living on the WAC property rely on their location to generate their incomes, and any such relocation would have a catastrophic impact on their lives and livelihood.
“As it currently stands, the current approach of the City will not resolve the issue - nor for the residents of WAC, nor for the residents of Observatory, nor for residents of the City of Cape Town,” said NU.
Cape Times