The dilapidated building at 104 Darling Street.
Image: FILE / Zukiswa Minyi / Independent Newspapers
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), currently in a legal battle seeking the eviction of residents at 104-106 Darling Street in Cape Town, has defended itself against criticism that it is not following the proper legal process.
The Darling Street property is believed to be among the 338 buildings that are owned by the department, which are believed to have been hijacked and/or illegally occupied.
In the DPWI’s court papers, the department explained that the Darling Street address consists of two properties: a dilapidated three-storey building and vacant land adjoining it, which it says “has become vulnerable to unlawful land grabs or land invasions”.
The DPWI is seeking an urgent notice as an interim eviction, with the assistance of the Sheriff of the Court and the police, and notices on boards would be displayed to inform the occupants that their personal belongings would be removed.
The matter was set for April 9, 2025, but according to Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre (NULC), which is representing the property, it did not proceed as “the State Attorney for the minister had not set the matter down, later citing that they needed time to respond to the residents' answering affidavits”.
“This shows that the minister had failed to obtain the requisite pre-authorisation to serve the urgent eviction application; failed to attach material reports, and importantly, did not make a case for the extraordinary measure of an urgent eviction that would result in residents being immediately evicted into homelessness,” NULC said.
The matter returned to the Western Cape High Court last Thursday.
“Almost a month later, DPWI has only now filed further papers and approached the court to obtain an order to belatedly authorise the service of the notice of the urgent eviction application, which it now intends to proceed with on June 19, 2025.
“NULC and some of its clients were at court prepared to bring to the court’s attention the concerning conduct of DPWI, and how the residents of Darling Street are being prejudiced.
“The parties were able to secure an order clarifying the next steps in the matter to ensure that the matter is fully ventilated on this new date,” it said.
The organisation and law centre previously said the building was home to more than 60 people who have been living there for decades.
NULC attorney Caitlin Turok said: “Our clients have lived on this land for decades — in some cases, for generations. For the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to pursue an urgent eviction without following the proper legal process, and without any credible evidence of urgency, amounts to a serious abuse of the court process and a profound failure to respect our clients’ rights.
“What’s more, the department is now attempting to retrospectively correct these procedural and substantive flaws — an approach that is both deeply concerning and unacceptable. We will make these arguments before the court at the hearing on June 19 to ensure that our clients’ rights are protected.”
In response on Monday, Spokesperson for DPWI, Lennox Mabaso, said: “As previously stated, on April 9, 2025, the matter was postponed, as the respondents only indicated their opposition to the application on March 27. Consequently, the legal team had just eight working days to consider their response. The department has now done so and has filed its reply affidavit.
“The department has since become aware of numerous occupants on the property who were not identified during the previous occupation survey. It was, therefore, necessary to postpone the matter to serve the department’s application on those occupants and provide them with a fair opportunity to respond.”
Mabaso explained that in addition, the City of Cape Town needs to be afforded time to finalise its housing report, which must include provisions for those newly identified occupants.
“On May 8, the department sought direction from the court on how proceedings should proceed and, by agreement with the respondents’ attorneys, obtained a court order setting out the steps to be taken for the hearing scheduled on June 19, 2025.
“The department denies the allegations relating to both the procedural and substantive merits of the application. It further denies that the court was seized with these issues at the May 8, 2025, hearing, which was solely for the purpose of obtaining direction on the continuation of proceedings,” he said.
Mabaso added that the department also rejects the claim that the eviction would lead to residents being “immediately evicted into homelessness”.
“As has been stated before, the department is engaging with the City of Cape Town to ensure the availability of safe and secure shelter for any of the inhabitants who may be affected by the proceedings, especially given that the building has been declared unsafe for human occupation and at risk of collapse.”
The DPWI’s prior court papers have highlighted that as far back as 2013, an Option Analysis and Valuation was carried out, and the municipality approved recommendations for making the TRA (temporary relocation area) available to the unlawful occupants and demolishing the dilapidated building.
“The applicant seeks to implement these recommendations by building and leasing small office space. The estimated costs of building and/or refurbishment are R3 387 508.00.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za