The large group of refugees living in a massive tent inside a camp at Paint City have had a rift and have now split.
What started as an enclave of refugees has now turned into a bitter fight, with over 100 people now squatting on the pavement outside less than a 100m away from the original camp.
The group says they were evicted on Friday 6 October after standing up to those inside the camp. Aisha Musa, one of those living on the pavement, says those on the inside were corrupt.
Everyone living at the camp is required to pay over R100 every time they enter the camp. Another said they were required to pay around R500 a month to move in and out and are penalised with R50 if they come in late.
They say the money is going to leader JP Balouse, who currently lives in Namibia. Balouse was arrested in 2020 after, among other things, attacking police and court officials. He was released earlier this year. He moved to the Bellville camp before moving to Namibia a while later. Musa says he implemented a military-style system in the camp and she was alerting some of the others to the corruption.
Musa says she was beating during the eviction and showed photo evidence of blood on her face. A woman at the original camp, Caroline Shewu, said that all the claims are untrue and that they begged the group to stay for months on end.
“You can’t put your child outside,” she said to the refugees who are now outside without the tent over their heads.
This was one of the reasons why they were told not to leave and also invited back. “We don’t know their motive.”
She said that she was arrested because of claims by the outside group and spent three days inside police cells. “They said I beat a child!” she said indignantly.
The refugees are those that occupied the Methodist Church in Greenmarket Square in 2019. When the Covid-19 crisis broke out they were moved to Bellville and a tent was provided under the Disaster Management Act regulations.
