The Parkwood community centre was completely gutted during protests last week after clashes between residents and law enforcement agencies.
Someresidentspelted authorities with stones and they responded by shooting rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd.
Over the past few weeks Parkwood backyard dwellers and other residents have occupied land along Prince George Drive to voice their frustration with the lack of housing.
Since their initial peaceful protest three weeks ago, law enforcement has broken down structures and pegs at the open field along Prince George Drive. This has led to clashes between residents and law enforcement and police.
On Wednesday May 23 and Thursday May 24 several people were arrested for public violence.
One of those arrested was Max Swartz, a community activist from Parkwood, who said a peaceful protest turned into chaos.
“I was innocent. I called the police to let them know that the community centre was burning but while I was standing the police started shooting rubber bullets when someone threw a stone,” he said.
Mr Swartz said he lay down on the ground to avoid being hit but was arrested soon after.
“They grabbed me and was very wild and said I was partly to blame for the protests. We were very peaceful but law enforcement came at full force which they’ve been doing since last week. We do not want this violence. We just want to peacefully make our plea for housing,” he said.
Mr Swartz, who suffers from kidney failure, said he was denied his medication while he was in the police holding cells.
It was only when Chris Nissen, commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), visited the area on Thursday and intervened that Mr Swartz received his medication and a student, who was also arrested, was released to write an exam.
Mr Nissen said the commission does not condone any acts of violence.
“People have the right to housing, sanitation and water and particularly communities where that had been neglected. These people have a right to be heard and we as SAHRC want to facilitate that. Something must happen to the plight of these communities. We are very concerned with all the protests across the provinces but we do believe that there will be some way of resolving these issues,” said Mr Nissen.
Grassy Police spokesperson, WarrantOfficerWynita Kleinsmith, confirmed that 28 people were arrested on Wednesday May 23 and Thursday May 24. Some appeared at Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Friday May 25 and some on Monday May 28. They will appear in court again on July 17 and July 18.
Meanwhile, the City of Cape Town has requested a multi-agency priority committee on protest action.
This comes after several housing protests across the province over the past few months, including in Vrygrond and Parkwood.
Other areas include Bo-
Kaap, Ocean View, Gugulethu, Macassar, Khayelitsha, Milnerton, Dunoon and Mitchell’s Plain.
JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety, security; and social services, said to discourage people from settling on land that is not suitable for human habitation, the Anti-land Invasion Unit removes, on aver-
age, 15000 illegal structures
and pegs a year. However, in
the first four months of 2018,
that figure is standing at over 26 000. He said the City will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to attempted land grabs.
“Invaded land often jeopardises emergency and basic service delivery and a variety of future projects to improve the living conditions of residents. Mostly, residents who invade land are the ones who ultimately have to deal with extreme flood, fire, health and safety risks when settling illegally on land that has not been earmarked for human settlement,” he said.
Mr Smith said lots of resources were deployed in the various areas to quell the violent protests. “This comes at the expense of other communities who are robbed of a policing presence. While we have yet to quantify the damage, it is safe to say that it runs into tens of millions of rand.”
Mayor Patricia de Lille said she was disturbed by the spate of land invasions which at times has been accompanied by violence.
She said she was embarking on a series of discussions with the affected communities including Vrygrond residents and the deputy mayor will meet with representatives from Parkwood.
“I am appealing to all communities to work with the City in a peaceful manner so that we can make progress possible together,” said Ms De Lille.