Searle Street residents who faced eviction after a Cape Town magistrate ruled it lawful will remain in their homes for now after lodging an appeal to challenge the ruling.
In December last year, acting magistrate Juan de Pontes ordered that the six families find alternative accommodation by Friday 6 March.
Frankl Weber, director of Weber Inc Attorneys, representing the residents, confirmed an appeal had been lodged on Tuesday 3 March and said legal processes must now be followed so the matter can be heard in the High Court.
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“The magistrates’ court needs to send the file to the High Court and [only once that happens will we] get a High Court case number.”
He could not provide specific time frames for this.
Weber said the families would remain in the cottages pending the outcome of the High Court proceedings.
The Searle Street cottages and the families living there are among the few who survived forced removals that took place from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, when more than 60 000 people were uprooted from District Six.
Now, 60 years after District Six was declared a “white group area”, people once again find themselves facing eviction and displacement.
The six semi-detached cottages were once owned by the Holy Cross Sisters, which spared them from wholesale demolition.
In 2014 the properties were sold to a private developer for R2,4 million. Residents claim they were not offered any first option to purchase their homes.
On Friday 6 March residents held a demonstration outside their cottages to express their gratitude to everyone who has supported them so far.
They were being supported by various social-housing lobby groups.
Deena Bosch, coordinator committee member for Reclaim the City, said: “Our gathering was to celebrate that the families weren’t evicted. We are waiting on the court for condemnation of the appeal, and we are positive that the court will accept their appeal.”
A resident Ita Haricombe had previously told People’s Post she had lived in the area for 16 years and had nowhere else to go.
“This is my home. It is where I want to stay. This is taking an emotional and financial toll on us. We have never wanted to live there for free.”
She explained she had two offspring, one of whom suffers from an illness, and this was the only home they knew.
Currently, more than 3 200 people have signed a petition urging that the eviction be stopped and calling for families to have the chance to buy their homes at a fair price.
In response to enquiries, Wayne Hufkie, attorney for the private developer, said: “Except for stating that the eviction application was obtained in terms of the relevant legislation we have no further comment.”
