Cape Town - An eviction order has been issued for the unlawful Castle of Good Hope squatters.
Illegal occupiers at the city centre landmark have until October 17 to vacate the site after the Western Cape High Court granted an eviction order to the National Public Works Department (DPW) to remove them.
The occupants, who live in tents and makeshift structures along the castle’s moat, have been living there since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis welcomed the ruling, not only because of the Castle’s tourism and economic importance, but also for the sake of the unlawful occupants.
“No person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs …
“The City has been pushing for more than two years for the owner of the site to take responsibility for it. We are grateful to the new minister for showing leadership and getting his department to act,” he said.
Last month, the City completed all processes related to the final eviction order obtained for unlawful occupation sites along Buitengracht Street, FW De Klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square, taxi rank and Foreshore, Helen Suzman Boulevard, Strand Street, Foreshore/ N1, Virginia Ave and Mill Street Bridge.
The high court also granted the City similar eviction orders for central Cape Town, the Three Anchor Bay Tennis Club, the Nelson Mandela Boulevard intersection with Hertzog Boulevard, Old Marine Drive and Christiaan Barnard Bridge.
Hill-Lewis added that City social development had documented unlawful occupants’ personal circumstances through on-site interviews, offering transitional shelter at City Safe Spaces and NGO-run night shelters.
“City Safe Spaces offer social programmes to assist people off the streets sustainably, reintegrate them into society, and reunite them with family.
“Personal development planning and employment opportunities are made available, as are referrals for mental health, medical, and substance abuse treatment,” he said.
Yesterday squatters at the Castle said they were destitute and had nowhere else to go.
One of them, Natasha Goliath, said they needed support to cancel the eviction order.
“We don’t have anywhere else to go otherwise we wouldn’t be here. There were no Safe Spaces that were mentioned to us. All the Safe Spaces near are full and they are like prisons, we want to be free.
“If the City wants to move us, they are going to have to move all of us as a community because we hustle together. I have been here for a year and many have been here for years. We want our own grounds where we can build our shacks and eventually get houses.
“We need to fight this eviction but we can’t do it alone.”
Joy Smiles said: “The City came to put up boards and handed out papers about two weeks ago. We were told to go to court on Tuesday, but we didn’t go.
“We are not going anywhere, this town belongs to us and the ground that we live on belongs to God. If they remove us, on the second day we will be back on the streets. This is my town. No one has the right to remove us from this ground.”
Squatter Vuyisile Kokwana said he wouldn’t mind moving into the Safe Spaces provided by the City.
“The only problem is the curfew. I can’t be home by 10pm. I have to go out to the streets to make money. But if I am removed, I will go,” he said.
DPW MEC Dean Macpherson said the eviction order serves as a boost for Cape Town’s economy ahead of the summer tourism season and “reinforces our position that state assets should be looked after and used for public good”.
“We simply cannot allow state assets to be occupied and vandalised, such as the Castle of Good Hope during the Covid-19 pandemic. The occupation and decay of state buildings nationwide create issues for the municipalities by attracting crime and grime, which we have also seen at the Castle of Good Hope,” Macpherson said.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says that the city has long been advocating for a resolution not only because of the castle’s tourism and economic importance but also for the sake of the unlawful occupants.
“Accepting social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice for dignity, health, and well-being. No person has the right to reserve a public space as exclusively theirs, while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and social assistance.
“The City has been pushing for more than two years for the owner of the site to take responsibility for it. We are grateful to the new minister for showing leadership and getting his department to act,” he said.