Prasa accused of contempt of court over failure to shelter evicted Cape Town families

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has been accused of contempt of court for failing to adhere to a Western Cape Division of the High Court ruling of 6 September to shelter families it illegally evicted in August from Transnet-owned land along Old Marine Drive in Cape Town.

On Friday, Judge Tandazwa Ndita gave Prasa 24 hours to build “temporary habitable dwellings that afford shelter, privacy and amenities at least equivalent to those that were destroyed”.

But Prasa was nowhere to be seen on the weekend, and nothing has been done to date. GroundUp found people sleeping out in the cold without shelter.

In a statement on Monday, housing activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi said Prasa’s inaction was “a clear act of contempt”.

“Only after the 24 hours to comply with the order had expired did Prasa notify the high court of its intention to appeal the ruling. However, no formal application for the appeal has been filed as yet,” the statement said.

Some of the 38 people evicted said they had been living on the land for a decade.

Ally Al-Habsy, 64, a father of three children who had welcomed the court ruling last week, told GroundUp on Sunday: “The court made a decision and we were hoping by now they would comply… It is clear they don’t regard the law.”

“For weeks we have been living in these bad conditions. All we want is to be given back our material and we continue to live as we did.”

Fellow land occupier Brian Rodriguess said: “We deserve better than this. Prasa should comply and do the right thing.”

At the time of publication Prasa spokesperson Andiswa Makanda had not responded to GroundUp’s numerous attempts to get comment.

Later on Tuesday, Makanda responded: “Prasa notes the ruling handed down by the Western Cape High Court on the Foreshore occupiers. Prasa’s legal department has studied the judgment and, in consultation with legal counsel, has taken the decision to take the matter on appeal.” DM 

First published by GroundUp.