Pretoria - About 32 waste pickers who have since 2018 been living on land adjacent to the Air Force Base Waterkloof won their legal battle against developer New Africa Development, who illegally evicted them and destroyed their homes and belongings.
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, has ordered that their shelters had to be restored within 24 hours.
If this could not be done, Judge Anthony Millar said the developer had to pay each of the waste pickers R5 000 as compensation.
He ordered that this money then had to be paid into the account of Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), which assisted the group, known as the “Airfield Community”.
In terms of the court order, New Africa Development, New Africa Development Property Income Fund and two security companies, has to grant the waste pickers unrestricted access to the property which they call home.
They were also interdicted from ordering or instructing anyone or service provider from harassing, intimidating, or threatening the 32 applicants, either individually or collectively, on the property.
The judge showed his displeasure at the conduct of the property giants, and he slapped them with a punitive costs order.
The applicants told the court that they make a living as waste reclaimers, spending their time collecting waste from around Centurion and then selling it. The base of their operations and the place they call home, they said, is this undeveloped property.They said they were told in January by representatives of the owners and developers of the property that it was to be fenced and cleared for an expected residential property development.
The representatives of the companies, who were accompanied by the police, told the homeless that if they did not move, they would be fenced in. When asked whether they had a court order to evict them, they were told: “The owner does not need a notice or court order to remove people from his own property.”
The developers started to erect the fence and the waste pickers were told they had 30 minutes to pack their things and vacate the property. When they refused, they were fenced in and had difficulty exiting the property.
A few days later, the representatives from the developer again pitched and told the pickers to take their belongings and leave. When they again refused, their homes and belongings were bulldozed.
The waste pickers said they stood helpless as their only possessions were destroyed. One of the waste pickers, who tried to take pictures of the destruction, said: “They told us they would klap us if we took pictures. We stood and watched as our community was being destroyed and personal belongings being taken.”
The applicants were left with no option but to seek shelter under a nearby freeway bridge.
The developers explained that the process of clearing the property had begun four months earlier. Thus they said this matter was not urgent as the waste pickers delayed in turning to the court. However, the homeless said as their belongings were destroyed they only had one cellphone and battled to get hold of LHR to assist them.
Judge Millar remarked: “The loss of a home is an unquestionably urgent matter.”
The developers argued that the pickers did not reside at the property, as they were out all day gathering waste. But the judge referred to pictures handed to the court of the property, which clearly showed that their shacks served as their homes.
He said they lived in extremely humble circumstances, with no electricity or running water.
Pretoria News