The South African Human Rights Centre (SAHRC) has filed an urgent court application to challenge the ongoing evictions of residents from the Chicken Farm informal settlement, arguing the removals are unlawful and have left vulnerable people, including children and the disabled, sleeping on the streets.
The legal action comes after residents were forcibly removed from houses they had been illegally occupying. The residents had moved into the homes, part of a 840-unit project, citing years of being overlooked on housing waiting lists.
The evictions are being carried out by a private security company hired by the Buffalo City Metro and the Provincial Human Settlements Department. The operation has left many residents stranded and dismantling their lives.
A spokesperson for the SAHRC, identified as Machaya, stated the evictions failed to comply with legal procedures, specifically Section 4(7) of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act, which offers special protections for the elderly, disabled, and children.
“If the eviction did not observe such people then that eviction is unlawful,” Machaya said.
Machaya detailed the deteriorating humanitarian situation, noting that people have been living on the streets since the evictions began last Thursday. “The children are unable to attend school… and they are sleeping in the street and it has been raining in the past few days,” Machaya said, adding that disabled individuals are left without access to basic sanitation.
In response, a spokesperson for the Buffalo City Metro defended the municipality’s actions, stating that all necessary legal steps were followed and that the evictions are being conducted under a court order. The spokesperson claimed the municipality had previously offered the residents temporary housing.
“We built those temporal structures two years ago for them to go and stay there and they refused,” the spokesperson said. “We are still open for engagement… Unfortunately, we have to stick by the court order.”
The municipal spokesperson expressed sympathy for the residents’ plight but emphasized the need to uphold the rule of law. “We can’t run a city in that manner. Um although we feel the pain.”
The matter is scheduled to be heard before a court on Tuesday, where a judge will consider the SAHRC’s challenge to the eviction process.