Update: Cape Town refugees ‘in contravention of court order’

The City of Cape Town have said that they are well within their right to enforce the removal of a group of refugees from public spaces in the city.

The refugee group that was evicted from the area surrounding the Central Methodist Church in the CBD on Sunday, clashed with law enforcement on Monday 2 March after they were told to pack up and leave Zonnebloem Park in District Six, where some 200 people had camped overnight.

The City confirmed that three males — aged 17, 38 and 41 — were arrested during Monday’s removals and were charged with assault on a police officer, contravention of a court order and resisting arrest

‘Refugees contravening court order’

The City’s executive director for safety and security Richard Bosman said the group have continued to contravene the terms of the court order.

“The court order granted on 17 February 2020 gave the City the go-ahead to enforce its bylaws in the Greenmarket Square area.”

“This operation was completed yesterday, but was then followed by an illegal invasion of refugees at St Mary’s Church opposite Parliament. The church laid a charge of trespassing, and the City then supported the South African Police Service in removing the group from the church premises.

“Overnight, a group of the refugees settled on open land in the vicinity of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The City’s enforcement agencies have since started an operation to move them from this piece of land.”

He said that the City is under no obligation to provide the refugees with alternative accommodation.

“The refugees who have been moved from Greenmarket Square, are not allowed any conduct in contravention of the City’s bylaws anywhere else in the city, that any such conduct would be in contempt of the court order, and that neither the City, or any other agency, has to provide alternative accommodation to the group,” he said.

“As indicated in our original communication on this matter on Sunday 1 March 2020, we appeal to the refugees to return to the areas they were living in before the initial sit-in protest in St George’s Mall.”

Leader condemns ‘inhumane treatment’ by the CoCT

Papy Sukami, one of the leaders of the refugee group evicted from Greenmarket Square, told TheSouthAfrican that the City is demonstrating xenophobia by displaying double standards regarding the refugee group and the homeless community in Cape Town. 

“I regret this attitude from the City, the way they are treating their fellow Africans is inhumane,” he said. 

“The City has been told through a court order last year that they cannot arrest and harass the homeless – but we are in the same situation. They beat us, arrest us… It is simply xenophobia. We are in the exact same position as the homeless people from South Africa, but they refuse to help us.”

“There are more than 20 community halls in Cape Town. Anywhere with a place to sleep and cook, we can stay there. We are strangers here, that is why they are doing this to us.”

He said that the refusal of the St Mary’s Church to accommodate them was demonstrative of the broader reluctance of South Africans to help refugees and foreign nationals. 

“They arrested eight of my people at the Catholic church. It is a house of God, one of their missions is to help the homeless. If there is xenophobia in the church, what can we expect from this country?”

He said that the fate of the refugees rested with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), because they needed to view the group in the same manner they view people fleeing from war-torn countries and provide relief. 

“We call on the UNHCR to assist us and verify us. We are asking for them to provide temporary accommodation. They must approve the ideas other agencies have for where we can go.” 

SAHRC condemn lack of action

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) have said that the City have done nothing to resolve the issue, which has escalated to a “humanitarian crisis”.

Commissioner Chris Nissen, who said that he and the organisation had “washed their hands” off the situation following an altercation with one of the refugee leaders, JP Balus, in December, said that the SAHRC would do what it could to assist.

“We have been involved, but not with the leadership. Some are still in church, others in the street. Spoke with UNHCR – they do assist in a very minimal way because unlike other countries, they are not in camps,” he said.

“Clearly there is a lot to be done. The City is arguing that they created this situation themselves. That may the case, but they are destitute. They came here with a dream of resettlement but that dream has been dashed.

“The problem is that these guys are receiving information from the leaders, who are completely absent at the moment, and they are telling them to continue with the mission.”

Nissen said that the City had made it clear that they were not interested in assisting to resolve the issue beyond enforcing bylaws.

“The City of Cape Town have made no provisions whatsoever for the group. They say that there are too many other people on waiting lists for accommodation.

“We see this for what it is – a humanitarian crisis.”