Khoisan vow to fight Woodstock evictions
The Khoisan clans have thrown their "full might" behind the tenants of Bromwell Street who are due to be evicted in 10 days time.
|||Cape Town - The Khoisan clans have thrown their "full might" behind the tenants of Bromwell Street who are due to be evicted in 10 days time.
The Khoisan have vowed to stand by the residents and say they will not allow the 28 families to be thrown out of their "ancestral land".
The Woodstock Hub bought the five semi-detached properties two years ago, and plan to erect a middle-income apartment block.
Tanyan Gradwell, National Executive for Youth and Children of the Kohoen Clan says "all the Khoi clans", believed to be over 20, will mobilise on September 26 in Bromwell Street to stop the court-ordered eviction from happening.
"All clans are being mobilised to help this community. My children will not move. This is a basic violation of human rights and of the Children's Act. This is the last eviction of our Khoi people. Enough of gentrification, this is our land," Gradwell says.
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said on Tuesday that the city would not be able to help the 28 families as a group, but only on an individual basis. De Lille said out of the five lease holders, only three had been registered on the City's housing list.
She said the city planned to build two social housing developments in the next 18 months, and encouraged the affected families to apply for housing.
However, Charnell Commando, spokesperson for the residents, called De Lille a "liar"
"The mayor said we will have first privileges for the housing development. How can she now say we are encouraged to apply? The mayor is also lying about the housing list as most people including myself have been on the list for more than 10 years. We are not leaving anyone behind, even if two people get housing," Charnell says.
De Lille said lease holder Brenda Smith was offered alternative accommodation in Pelican Park by the Western Cape Government, but refused.
However, Brenda, 75, insists she was never offered anything except Delft. "I was never told anything about Pelican Park. I only know they came to tell me about a place in Delft, but I don't know Delft. It's far and I receive my medication from Woodstock Hospital," Brenda said.
Charnell says residents want "affordable housing in the Woodstock area."
She confirmed that another meeting was held with The Woodstock Hub on Tuesday night, but said they were not allowed to talk about it.
Land activists Reclaim the City said it would release a statement on Thursday, while The Woodstock Hub directors did not respond to media queries.
Daily Voice