Cape Town files eviction papers for foreigners ‘demanding' relocation to Canada
The City of Cape Town has approached the courts in an attempt to evict the remaining foreigners who have been illegally occupying the Wingfield tent and Paint City in Bellville.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced on Wednesday that the city had filed papers to evict the remaining 360 foreigners who had been illegally occupying the areas since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
He said they had been offered alternative living arrangements, and while some accepted the offers, others refused, demanding that they be relocated to Canada.
ALSO READ: South Africa must charge countries for deportations of illegal foreigners, says ATM
The city filed eviction papers on Wednesday
'Residents of Kensington will know exactly where we are because you will see right behind us, the infamous Wingfield tent, which has been here since Covid,' said Hill-Lewis.
'We have now gone through the process of carefully drafting these evicting papers, and they are being filed in court today. This means we can finally start the process at this Wingfield tent and Paint City in Bellville.'
Operation New Broom targets foreigners
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the city's move was a result of the department's newly launched Operation New Broom, the latest technology-driven initiative aimed at arresting, convicting, and deporting undocumented foreigners occupying public spaces.
ALSO READ: SA taxi driver nabbed attempting to smuggle 25 illegal foreigners, gets R375k fine
'There were numerous offers made in cooperation with international agencies to relocate many of the people in these areas. Many of them took up the offers, but some have refused, and today we're saying, enough is enough,' said Schreiber.
'The Department of Home Affairs recently launched Operation New Broom to signal our commitment to enforcing the rule of law when it comes to illegal immigrants occupying public spaces.'
On the District Six open land, Hill-Lewis said: 'This land is owned by the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, and is supposed to be used for the grievously slow-moving District Six restitution. I write to that Department frequently to warn them of the growing number of unlawful structures on their land.'
🚨🇿🇦 With the help of the Ministers @Leon_Schreib and @DeanMacpherson, we can now finally launch a joint eviction application for the foreign nationals living unlawfully at Wingfield and at Paint City, Bellville.
Despite years of support, including reintegration and… pic.twitter.com/fxPP8V3k2y — Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) June 18, 2025
Last month, 25 suspects were arrested while occupying the land.
Schreiber said at the time: 'As with everything else we do, Operation New Broom is guided by our commitment to the rule of law. It is this commitment that both motivates us to do more to combat illegality, and to uphold due process and legal compliance in the process.'
READ NEXT: Tip-off leads police to at least 90 illegal foreigners in abandoned Houghton property
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
AV Mahomed resigns from KZN Inter-Religious Council over alleged silence on Palestine crisis
AV Mahomed Image: File Dr AV Mahomed, the chairperson of the Juma Musjid, announced his immediate resignation from the KwaZulu-Natal Inter-Religious Council over its alleged silence on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine. The council, of which Mahomed was a founding member, was launched in October 2007. It is a provincial body that brings together various faith groups to address social issues and promote interfaith dialogue. The council includes representatives from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Bahai, African Traditional, and Nazareth Baptist faiths. Mahomed, who resigned on Sunday, said the alleged dormant state of the council during the past four to six years had been laid bare by its inaction and indifference, particularly regarding the atrocities in Gaza. 'It is shameful that an institution claiming to represent religious leadership can remain silent in the face of such blatant inhumanity. How can we purport to uphold divine values, while ignoring the suffering of our fellow human beings? This is not just a failure of leadership but a betrayal of faith itself. 'After 69 years of humanitarian work, I refuse to associate with an organisation that has shown such profound disregard for justice and compassion. The council's paralysis, whether due to fear, indifference, or complicity, has rendered it irrelevant in the fight for humanity. Despite raising this issue directly, the only response was a cordial, yet empty engagement by (members) Brother Ian Booth and Sister Ela Gandhi, with no meaningful acknowledgment,' he said. Next Stay Close ✕ Mahomed added that his resignation was not a statement of religious discord, but was instead a profound moral stance. 'I am known around the world as a humanitarian, so I cannot associate myself with people who are afraid to make comments on such urgent humanitarian issues. The narrative surrounding Palestine transcends religion and politics. It's fundamentally about human rights and the duty we have to condemn the starvation of fellow human beings.' In response to Mahomed's resignation, the council, in a statement to the POST, expressed 'deep regret and gratitude' for Mahomed's many years of tireless service. 'As a founding member, his contribution to interfaith dialogue and social cohesion in the province have been invaluable.' The statement said while the council recognised Mahomed's 'frustrations and concerns', it remained committed to its founding mandate of promoting peace, unity, and the well-being of all in KwaZulu-Natal through collaboration among diverse faith communities. 'While Covid-19 slowed down activities, the council has engaged in multiple online or in-person activities in response to the various crises faced by our communities, including social unrest, floods and Covid-19. The council continues to function as a voluntary body, currently engaged in initiatives such as the forthcoming provincial interfaith summit. 'We affirm our collective concern for global humanitarian crises, including the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and advocate for peace, the protection of human life, release of those held in captivity and the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid. Though our approaches may differ, our shared values compel us to stand for justice, compassion, and unity.' The council said it wished Mahomed well in his future endeavours. 'The council remains steadfast in its mission to build relationships, promote peace and serve our communities through interfaith cooperation and mutual respect.' THE POST
The South African
a day ago
- The South African
Joburg cracks down on undocumented migrants in Sandton raid
Authorities arrested more than 15 undocumented migrants during an early morning operation at the Ginger Informal Settlement in Sandton on Thursday. The operation was led by the City of Johannesburg in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and focused on enforcing municipal by-laws and removing illegal informal structures in parts of the northern suburbs. Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero told SABC News that the arrested individuals had been taken into custody by the police. 'Well, we have arrested a few undocumented individuals. They are already in the police vans, and they will be taken into custody. Hopefully, Home Affairs will act on them and take them back to their countries of origin,' Morero said. He also claimed that officers had identified the sale of nyaope in the area, which police were addressing. Morero vowed that authorities would carry out further raids across Johannesburg to curb crime and dismantle illegal settlements. 'We are telling residents we are acting and dealing with lawlessness in Johannesburg. We are enforcing the law through by-law enforcement and crime prevention. What is critical is the court orders, we have them, and we are acting in accordance with the law,' he said. He added that the city could not allow illegal occupation and criminality to continue unchecked. Residents in the surrounding area welcomed the operation, expressing pleasure at seeing law enforcement officials take visible action. Some said they hoped such raids would occur more frequently. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Public trust in police reaches all-time low
Most South Africans who have lost faith in police are victims of crime or those who fear being attacked Image: Armand Hough Recent findings reveal that public trust in South African police has plummeted to an all-time low, with only 22% of citizens expressing confidence in law enforcement. Most South Africans who have lost faith in police are victims of crime or those who fear being attacked, according to findings by the Human Sciences Research Council's (HSRC) South African Social Attitudes Survey, which was released last week. The survey found that trust levels in the police have remained relatively low over the 1998 to 2024/2025 period, with only 22% of citizens expressing trust in the police in 2022. The 2023 and 2024/25 confidence levels were almost unchanged. Confidence graph Image: HSRC Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'In 2021, public trust in the police was 27%. This appears to be linked to the July 2021 social unrest. Many criticised the poor performance of the police during the unrest. 'This was followed by a further 5% decline to 22% in 2022, with the 2023 and 2024/2025 confidence levels almost unchanged, which may reflect increasing rates for certain crimes. The 2022/2023 and 2024/2025 figures are the lowest recorded in 27 years,' the findings revealed. Over the 1998 to 2010 period, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static, ranging between 39% and 42%. The findings indicated that the 2016 to 2020 period was characterised by 'modest fluctuation' between 31% and 35%. 'The hard Covid-19 lockdown experience, which included instances of police brutality in enforcing lockdown regulations, did not appear to have had an aggregate effect on confidence levels based on the 2020 survey results. 'In 2021 public trust in the police dipped to a low of 27%, and appeared to be linked to the July 2021 social unrest. Many criticised the poor performance of the police during the unrest. 'Those who displayed lower trust in the police include victims of crime or those who fear being attacked. Well-publicised instances of police abuse or failure can also seem to reduce public confidence. 'Those who had been recent victims of crime displayed significantly lower levels of trust in the police, and fear of crime has a similar effect. 'Higher levels of fear are associated with lower trust in the police. This applies to classic measures such as fear of walking alone in one's area after dark, as well as crime-specific fears, such as worrying about house robberies or violent assault. These associations have been found across multiple rounds of surveying,' the findings noted. Some of the suggestions made by the HSRC on how to regain police trust included promoting competent and ethical police leadership and strengthening the overall system of police governance. Suggestions also included that police should put more measures in place to monitor and control the use of force, and promote a culture of police accountability. "While provincial levels and trajectories have varied, the trend points to a deepening legitimacy crisis for the SAPS across the country, with historically higher-trust provinces converging downward toward the levels of deep scepticism observed in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. "Well-publicised instances of police abuse or failure can also seem to reduce public confidence. It is evident that in a high-crime and socially-divided society, confidence in the police is made up of a mix of views on the fairness and effectiveness of the police, combined with experiences of crime, including worrying about crime, experiences of policing, and even more general views on the functioning of democracy and government. "The risk is that low and diminishing confidence in the police, if left unchecked, will also continue to negatively shape views of key elements of police legitimacy, such as a sense of shared moral values and the duty to obey the police," the HSRC said. Perceptions of police corruption also had a 'strong, negative effect' on police confidence. The survey showed that from past research, the South African public strongly emphasised both police fairness and effectiveness as important elements of their overall assessments of police confidence. 'The more the police are seen to be treating South Africans unfairly, the more they are likely to view the police as untrustworthy. Similarly, perceptions that the police treat people disrespectfully, are not impartial in their decision-making, or lack transparency in the actions (procedural unfairness) also undermine public confidence. 'Lastly, if the police are seen as ineffective, unsuccessful in preventing, reducing and responding to crime, this will also diminish confidence,' the report stated. THE POST
