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By Chelsea Geach 
11h ago
Cape Town – The Western Cape Superior Court has ordered that the seven activists occupying a mansion in Camps Bay have until noon Thursday next week to vacate the premises, and as long as they comply, no cost will be imposed.
Despite the owners and the property management company requesting urgent relief in the form of eviction, Judge Mokgoatji Dolamo did not order the seven members of the We See You Collective to leave the luxury commercial property immediately.
The group initially moved into the Camps Bay property two weeks ago, under the guise of an online booking for three nights that was fully paid for. After three nights had passed, they emailed the real estate agent informing them of the occupation as an act of protest against spatial inequality and the lack of safe spaces for queer people in Cape Town.
Judge Dolamo took into consideration the fact that three of the seven occupants were left homeless during the Covid-19 lockdown and have nowhere to go once they were evicted from the current occupation. He paused in court proceedings until he had confirmation from the City of Cape Town that alternative emergency housing would be provided for all three. Since these homes will only be available starting October 8, that’s your deadline to vacate the mansion.
“Defendants are ordered to vacate the property no later than 12 noon on October 8, 2020. There is no order as to cost,” Judge Dolamo ruled Friday.
“In the event, and only in the event, that the defendants do not vacate the property and do not comply with the order, the sheriff of this court and his deputy are authorized and mandated to execute this order to evict the defendants from the property and to obtain the assistance of SAPS if necessary. In which case, the defendants are ordered to pay the costs of this application, jointly and severally … including the cost incurred by the appointment of a principal counsel and the costs of the bailiff to execute this order. “
Judge Dolamo has also referred concerns raised by the We See You Collective to the South African Human Rights Commission and the Gender Equality Commission.
The seven defendants, who were present in court and represented themselves legally, celebrated the order as a “small victory.”
At this time, they did not comment on whether they will comply with the order to vacate the mansion on Thursday of next week.
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