Image: Daily Maverick
Local – A court case over the eviction of a group of District Six residents has been postponed to 27 January next year. The families have lived in the properties for decades, but the homes have since been sold to a private developer, and the residents are now fighting to stay.
District Six resident Zahra Nordien said the families should be allowed to stay and that the government should focus on developing District Six, saying money was now available for the area. The families deserved to remain where they were, she said, and the rest of the community felt the same way.
“Those houses are there for decades. Their forefathers have lived there and now it’s the children that are still living there, and those houses are heritage,” she said.
Developer Urged to Invest in District Six
The families now living in the houses include the grandchildren of the original occupants. These residents have appointed a lawyer to contest the eviction in court and have also raised the matter with government. The area has a long history, and many see the homes as part of its heritage.
Nordien, who has not spoken to government herself, said she could not say what officials had told the families. The wider community had heard nothing from the developer either, she said, and she was unsure how far the eviction would go.
“Is there no empathy towards those people? And has he got no empathy towards District Six, the land that’s been vacant for decades? Why don’t he put his money… to develop District Six so that the people can come back to their home?” she asked.
Four Groups, One Voice
The dispute is part of a wider struggle over land in District Six, where many people forcibly removed during apartheid are still waiting to return. Many restitution claimants are still living in the townships. Recent progress on restitution came after the District Six Working Committee took government to court.
Nordien criticised local government plans to build social housing on land from which people were forcibly removed, saying too many former residents still needed to return. She called on national and local government to fast-track restitution. Support from other areas has come mostly from claimants, she said, and political parties are not welcome because District Six is apolitical.
Four groups, the civic association, an advocacy group for landowners, a steering committee for the 108-unit Phase Three development and the Working Committee, have now united. Nordien said government had long claimed the groups were divided.
“The groups never fought, but now these four groups have come together, and we feel we are stronger now and now we can speak to government with one voice,” she said.
