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By Chevon Booysen 
4h ago
Cape Town – The radical queer social justice movement #WeSeeYou says they have rejected alternative accommodation offered by the city of Cape Town as the deadline for their eviction approaches.
The collective, which illegally occupied a private Camps Bay property in a protest to highlight the need for land and economic justice, said the space offered was “unfair and inhumane.”
On Friday, the group received an eviction notice in Western Cape Superior Court, ordering them to vacate the property by noon Thursday. If they complied with this, no costs would be imposed.
The collective, which represented itself in court, said they would take the time to find a safe space for three of the protesters who were left homeless.
“As activists and artists who have never engaged the law in this way, it was an informative and heartbreaking experience with brief moments of triumph. This case is unprecedented as a questioning of the value of human rights versus unjust property rights and gives us hope that the law will be able to take into account the lived realities, injustices and violence that most of us like. queer and others facing marginalized people in this country.
“Judge (Mokgoatji) Dolamo’s verdict that we can leave the house on October 8 gives us some time and space to look for alternatives for our family in this group to access a safe and adequate housing, since the option that provides the City Council is unfair and inhumane.
“The emergency shelter offered by the City would be built as a temporary shelter in an open field in Philippi. None of these options is adequate, none of these options is safe and sensitive to the realities of queer people, ”they said.
Mayco member for human settlements, Malusi Booi, said the court approached the city to see if emergency accommodation was available, in what he described as a “private matter of illegal occupation.”
“Typically, the City responds by filing a housing report if the court involves the City, after evaluations of the respondents’ personal circumstances are made. To date, we have not received the completed questionnaires from respondents that will allow the City to determine if respondents qualify for emergency accommodation, if determined by the court, ”said Booi.
Cape times
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