Civil society organisations and informal settlement residents say the law targets the poor, criminalises poverty, harks back to apartheid legislation and contravenes South Africa’s constitution.īulelani Qolani in the doorway of the home he has had to rebuild four times at Ethembeni slum. Two years on, a new bylaw has been passed that criminalises the act of occupying public and private land, legitimising the authority’s behaviour. The city’s conduct was ruled unlawful, with one of the judges commenting that the evictions policy was “reminiscent of apartheid-era forced removals”. The incident was caught on video, uploaded on to social media with Qolani’s permission, and covered extensively in the media.Īs a result of this and previous evictions at the height of the pandemic, the South African Human Rights Commission sued Cape Town council.

While he sat on his bed, his shack was torn down around him before officers moved on to destroy other dwellings. The officers pepper-sprayed him before punching and kicking him one pushed him to the ground until he managed to break free and run back inside.

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